CVE-2023-44178
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 · uneditedA Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in the CLI command of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a low privileged attacker to execute a specific CLI commands leading to Denial of Service. Repeated actions by the attacker will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue affects Juniper Networks: Junos OS * 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-S12; * 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S8; * 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S8; * 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S6; * 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S5; * 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S5; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S3; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3-S2; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R3-S1; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R2-S1; * 23.2 versions prior to 23.2R2.
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 stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in a specific CLI command in Juniper Networks Junos OS. A low-privileged attacker with CLI access can trigger this vulnerability to cause a Denial of Service, and repeated exploitation creates a sustained DoS condition.
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< 20.4= 20.4= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3= 22.4< 20.4= 20.4= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3= 22.4CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Junos OS versionRun 'show version' or 'show version detail' from the CLI consoleAffected if The displayed version matches < 20.4, = 20.4, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3, or = 22.4
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Confirm product typeRun 'show version' and check if output indicates 'Junos OS Evolved' versus standard Junos OSAffected if Running Junos OS Evolved and version matches the affected list (< 20.4, = 20.4, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3, = 22.4)
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Determine if low-privileged CLI access is possibleVerify if standard user accounts or operator-level accounts can access the CLI shell. Check user permission levels with 'show configuration system login'Affected if Low-privileged users (operator, read-only, or super-user-minimal) have CLI shell access to the device
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Check for the vulnerable CLI command contextSince the specific command is not publicly disclosed, identify which high-privilege or diagnostic CLI commands are accessible to lower-privileged users in your configurationAffected if A CLI command that triggers the vulnerable code path is accessible to low-privileged users
Your device is affected if it runs Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved matching any of the listed vulnerable versions AND low-privileged CLI access is permitted to the specific vulnerable command.
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 · scoped20.4
Apply the appropriate Junos OS software update from the vendor (19.1R3-S10, 19.2R3-S7, 19.3R3-S8, 19.4R3-S12, 20.2R3-S8, 20.4R3-S8, 21.2R3-S6, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S5, 22.1R3-S3, 22.2R3-S2, 22.3R3-S1, 22.4R2-S1, or 23.2R2 or later).
Upgrade to any of the following fixed versions: 19.1R3-S10, 19.2R3-S7, 19.3R3-S8, 19.4R3-S12, 20.2R3-S8, 20.4R3-S8, 21.2R3-S6, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S5, 22.1R3-S3, 22.2R3-S2, 22.3R3-S1, 22.4R2-S1, or 23.2R2 or later
- 1. Identify the current Junos OS version by running 'show version' in the CLI
- 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version (see upgrade_path field)
- 3. Download the fixed Junos OS version from the Juniper Networks support portal (supportportal.juniper.net)
- 4. Review Juniper's upgrade instructions and release notes for the target version
- 5. Plan maintenance window as upgrade requires system reboot
- 6. Upload the Junos software package to the device using 'request system software add <package-name>'
- 7. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot'
- 8. After reboot, verify the new version is running with 'show version'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44178 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
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-2023-44178 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
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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