CVE-2023-28968
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 · uneditedAn Improperly Controlled Sequential Memory Allocation vulnerability in the Juniper Networks Deep Packet Inspection-Decoder (JDPI-Decoder) Application Signature component of Junos OS's AppID service on SRX Series devices will stop the JDPI-Decoder from identifying dynamic application traffic, allowing an unauthenticated network-based attacker to send traffic to the target device using the JDPI-Decoder, designed to inspect dynamic application traffic and take action upon this traffic, to instead begin to not take action and to pass the traffic through. An example session can be seen by running the following command and evaluating the output. user@device# run show security flow session source-prefix <address/mask> extensive Session ID: <session ID>, Status: Normal, State: Active Policy name: <name of policy> Dynamic application: junos:UNKNOWN, <<<<< LOOK HERE Please note, the JDPI-Decoder and the AppID SigPack are both affected and both must be upgraded along with the operating system to address the matter. By default, none of this is auto-enabled for automatic updates. This issue affects: Juniper Networks any version of the JDPI-Decoder Engine prior to version 5.7.0-47 with the JDPI-Decoder enabled using any version of the AppID SigPack prior to version 1.550.2-31 (SigPack 3533) on Junos OS on SRX Series: All versions prior to 19.1R3-S10; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R3-S7; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S8; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S11; 20.1 version 20.1R1 and later versions prior to 20.2R3-S7; 20.3 version 20.3R1 and later versions prior to 20.4R3-S6; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S5; 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 confidenceA memory allocation vulnerability in Juniper's JDPI-Decoder Application Signature component on SRX Series devices causes the decoder to fail in identifying dynamic application traffic, resulting in traffic passing through uninspected and unfiltered. The issue manifests as 'junos:UNKNOWN' in flow session output instead of the identified application.
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< 1.550.2-31< 5.7.0-47= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Junos OS versionRun `show version` or `show version detail` on the SRX device CLI to retrieve the installed Junos OS version.Affected if The version matches any of: 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, or 21.4.
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Check AppID Service SigPack versionRun `show appid signatures pack version` or `show system services application-identification` to display the installed application signature package version.Affected if The SigPack version is lower than 1.550.2-31.
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Check JDPI Decoder Engine versionRun `show jdpi decoder version` or check the JDPI decoder details via `show system services application-identification diagnostics` if available.Affected if The JDPI Decoder Engine version is lower than 5.7.0-47.
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Verify application identification is failingRun `show session` or `show session interface <interface-name>` and examine the application column for entries showing as 'junos:UNKNOWN' instead of a recognized application name.Affected if Active sessions display 'junos:UNKNOWN' for traffic that should be identified as a known dynamic application.
You are affected if your SRX runs any of the listed Junos versions AND has a SigPack version below 1.550.2-31 OR a JDPI Decoder version below 5.7.0-47, particularly if flow sessions show 'junos:UNKNOWN' for dynamic application traffic.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.550.2-315.7.0-47
Upgrade to JDPI-Decoder Engine version 5.7.0-47 or higher AND AppID SigPack version 1.550.2-31 (SigPack 3533) or higher, along with the corresponding Junos OS version fix, as all three components must be updated together.
Junos OS versions 19.1R3-S10, 19.2R3-S7, 19.3R3-S8, 19.4R3-S11 or later (with JDPI-Decoder Engine >= 5.7.0-47 and AppID SigPack >= 1.550.2-31)
- 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the SRX Series device using 'show version'
- 2. Identify the current AppID SigPack version using 'show system services application-identification signature'
- 3. Identify the current JDPI-Decoder Engine version using 'show system services application-identification decoder'
- 4. Upgrade Junos OS to a version that includes JDPI-Decoder Engine 5.7.0-47 or later and AppID SigPack 1.550.2-31 or later. Recommended minimum versions: 19.1R3-S10, 19.2R3-S7, 19.3R3-S8, or 19.4R3-S11 or later
- 5. After upgrading Junos OS, verify the AppID SigPack has been updated to version 1.550.2-31 (SigPack 3533) or later using the command from step 2
- 6. Verify the JDPI-Decoder Engine has been updated to version 5.7.0-47 or later using the command from step 3
- 7. If automatic updates are not enabled, manually update the SigPack: set system services application-identification signature automatic update and commit, or manually install the updated signature package
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
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- Review / QA1.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-28968 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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