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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-28962

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An Improper Authentication vulnerability in upload-file.php, used by the J-Web component of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to upload arbitrary files to temporary folders on the device. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: All versions prior to 19.4R3-S11; 20.1 version 20.1R1 and later versions; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S7; 20.3 version 20.3R1 and later versions; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S6; 21.1 version 21.1R1 and later versions; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S4; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S3; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S1; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S1, 22.2R3; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S2, 22.3R2.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Improper authentication vulnerability in upload-file.php within the J-Web component of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to upload arbitrary files to temporary folders on the device. This authentication bypass in the file upload functionality could be leveraged for remote code execution.

MitigationApply Junos OS updates per the vendor's specified version matrix. Until patched, restrict network access to J-Web interface or disable J-Web if not required.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
JunosOperating system
Affected:< 19.4= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm J-Web is enabled
    Run 'show system services web-management' to check if J-Web is enabled on the device
    Affected if J-Web service is active and listening
  2. Identify Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'request system version' to obtain the installed Junos OS version
    Affected if Version matches any of: < 19.4, = 19.4, = 20.1, = 20.2, = 20.3, = 20.4, = 21.1, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2
  3. Verify J-Web php file exists
    Attempt to access /bin/php-cgi or check file existence via 'file list /var/tmp' if you have CLI access - the vulnerability allows file upload to /var/tmp
    Affected if Arbitrary file upload to /tmp is possible without authentication

Device is affected if J-Web is enabled AND Junos OS version is 19.4 through 22.2 inclusive.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 19.4 or later
Fixed in 19.4
Interim mitigation

Apply Junos OS updates per the vendor's specified version matrix. Until patched, restrict network access to J-Web interface or disable J-Web if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the latest available Junos OS release in your version branch (19.4R3-S11, 20.2R3-S7, 20.4R3-S6, 21.2R3-S4, 21.3R3-S3, 21.4R3-S3, 22.1R3-S1, 22.2R3, or 22.3R2)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate fixed version based on your current branch: for 19.x upgrade to 19.4R3-S11, for 20.1 upgrade to a version >=20.1R1 with subsequent fix, for 20.2 upgrade to 20.2R3-S7, for 20.3 upgrade to a version >=20.3R1 with subsequent fix, for 20.4 upgrade to 20.4R3-S6, for 21.1 upgrade to a version >=21.1R1 with subsequent fix, for 21.2 upgrade to 21.2R3-S4, for 21.3 upgrade to 21
  3. 3. Download the appropriate Junos SR upgrade package from the Juniper Networks support portal
  4. 4. Upload the upgrade package to the device via SCP or USB
  5. 5. Install the upgrade using 'request system software add <package-name>' command
  6. 6. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot' command to apply changes
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version is installed using 'show version'
  8. 8. Confirm the J-Web component is updated and test that file upload requires proper authentication
Caveat Major version upgrades may introduce configuration changes; review release notes for backward compatibility concerns

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-28962 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data