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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-44184

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.4 / 21.4 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in the management daemon (mgd) process of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows a network-based authenticated low-privileged attacker, by executing a specific command via NETCONF, to cause a CPU Denial of Service to the device's control plane. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS * All versions prior to 20.4R3-S7; * 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S5; * 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S5; * 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S4; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S2; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R2-S1, 22.3R3; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R1-S2, 22.4R2. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved * All versions prior to 21.4R3-S4-EVO; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S2-EVO; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3-EVO; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R3-EVO; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R2-EVO. An indicator of compromise can be seen by first determining if the NETCONF client is logged in and fails to log out after a reasonable period of time and secondly reviewing the WCPU percentage for the mgd process by running the following command: mgd process example: user@device-re#> show system processes extensive | match "mgd|PID" | except last PID USERNAME PRI NICE SIZE RES STATE C TIME WCPU COMMAND 92476 root 100 0 500M 89024K CPU3 3 57.5H 89.60% mgd <<<<<<<<<<< review the high cpu percentage. Example to check for NETCONF activity: While there is no specific command that shows a specific session in use for NETCONF, you can review logs for UI_LOG_EVENT with "client-mode 'netconf'" For example: mgd[38121]: UI_LOGIN_EVENT: User 'root' login, class 'super-user' [38121], ssh-connection '10.1.1.1 201 55480 10.1.1.2 22', client-mode 'netconf'

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

A buffer handling flaw in the Juniper mgd (management daemon) process allows an authenticated low-privilege attacker to trigger excessive CPU consumption via a crafted NETCONF command, causing denial of service to the device's control plane. The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking when processing specific NETCONF operations.

MitigationApply the relevant Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved software update from the version matrix to patch the mgd daemon. Monitor mgd process WCPU percentage and NETCONF session logs as indicators of active exploitation.

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:< 20.4= 20.4= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3= 22.4
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:< 21.4= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3= 22.4

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Junos version
    Run 'show version' or 'system: show version' command via CLI to obtain the exact Junos OS version installed on the device
    Affected if The displayed version matches any of these: any version < 20.4, = 20.4, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3, = 22.4 (for Junos) or any version < 21.4, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3, = 22.4 (for Junos OS Evolved)
  2. Confirm NETCONF service is enabled
    Run 'show configuration system services netconf' or check via 'show configuration' to see if NETCONF service is configured and active
    Affected if NETCONF is enabled and accessible, as this is the attack vector required to trigger the vulnerability
  3. Review mgd process CPU utilization
    Run 'show system processes extensive' or monitor via 'show system resources' to observe the mgd daemon CPU usage patterns over time
    Affected if The mgd process shows abnormally high or sustained elevated WCPU percentage without legitimate administrative cause
  4. Examine NETCONF session logs for anomalies
    Review logs via 'show log messages' and search for NETCONF session activity using 'show log messages | match netconf' to identify unusual or excessive NETCONF command patterns
    Affected if Logs show unusual NETCONF session behavior, repeated commands, or patterns indicative of malformed NETCONF operations causing CPU spikes

Your device is potentially affected if it runs a Junos version matching the affected list AND has NETCONF service enabled, as the vulnerability requires an authenticated NETCONF session to trigger the mgd CPU consumption flaw.

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 20.4 / 21.4 or later
Fixed in 20.421.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved software update from the version matrix to patch the mgd daemon. Monitor mgd process WCPU percentage and NETCONF session logs as indicators of active exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the fixed release for your branch: Junos OS 20.4R3-S7, 21.2R3-S5, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S4, 22.1R3-S2, 22.2R3, 22.3R3, or 22.4R2 (or later); Junos OS Evolved 21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S2-EVO, 22.2R3-EVO, 22.3R3-EVO, or 22.4R2-EVO (or later)

  1. 1. Identify current Junos OS/Evolved version by running 'show version'
  2. 2. Determine which release branch you're currently on (20.4, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, or 22.4)
  3. 3. For Junos OS: upgrade to 20.4R3-S7, 21.2R3-S5, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S4, 22.1R3-S2, 22.2R3, 22.3R3, or 22.4R2 (or later) based on your current branch
  4. 4. For Junos OS Evolved: upgrade to 21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S2-EVO, 22.2R3-EVO, 22.3R3-EVO, or 22.4R2-EVO (or later) based on your current branch
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
  6. 6. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the fix by checking mgd process CPU with 'show system processes extensive | match mgd'
  8. 8. Monitor for NETCONF session anomalies as described in the IoC section
Caveat Standard Junos upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any migration warnings, and ensure configurations are compatible with target release

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,880
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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-2023-44184 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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