JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-44185

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-13

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.4 or later.

See remediation →

84/100

Remediation priority · High

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

An Improper Input Validation vulnerability in the routing protocol daemon (rpd) of Juniper Networks allows an attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS )to the device upon receiving and processing a specific malformed ISO VPN BGP UPDATE packet. Continued receipt of this packet will cause a sustained Denial of Service condition. This issue affects: * Juniper Networks Junos OS: * All 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 22.1R2-S2, 22.1R3; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S1, 22.2R3; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S2, 22.3R2. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: * All versions prior to 20.4R3-S6-EVO; * 21.1-EVO version 21.1R1-EVO and later versions prior to 21.2R3-S4-EVO; * 21.3-EVO versions prior to 21.3R3-S3-EVO; * 21.4-EVO versions prior to 21.4R3-S3-EVO; * 22.1-EVO versions prior to 22.1R3-EVO; * 22.2-EVO versions prior to 22.2R2-S1-EVO, 22.2R3-EVO; * 22.3-EVO versions prior to 22.3R1-S2-EVO, 22.3R2-EVO.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Improper input validation in Juniper's routing protocol daemon (rpd) allows attackers to send malformed ISO VPN BGP UPDATE packets that crash the daemon, causing sustained DoS conditions.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS/Evolved to a patched version as listed in the Juniper advisory; implement network segmentation to limit BGP peering to trusted peers as a compensating control.

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

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

JunosOperating system

Affected:< 20.4= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3

Junos Os EvolvedOperating system

Affected:< 20.4= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

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

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Check Junos version

Run 'show version' on the device CLI to obtain the installed Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved version number

Affected if The version displayed matches any of these: < 20.4, = 20.4, = 21.1, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3
Verify rpd daemon is running

Run 'show system processes routing' or 'show chassis routing-engine' to confirm the routing protocol daemon (rpd) is active

Affected if rpd is running - a stopped daemon would not process the malformed packets
Confirm BGP is configured

Run 'show configuration protocols bgp' to inspect the BGP configuration

Affected if BGP is enabled and configured - without an active BGP peering, the malformed UPDATE packets cannot be received
Check for ISO VPN or Layer 3 VPN configuration

Run 'show configuration routing-instances' and look for instance type 'vrf' or ISO-related routing options under 'protocols bgp'

Affected if ISO VPN or Layer 3 VPN (VRF) is configured with BGP - the vulnerability is triggered specifically by malformed ISO VPN BGP UPDATE packets

You are affected if your Junos version is in the listed vulnerable versions, rpd is running, BGP is configured, and ISO VPN or Layer 3 VPN BGP peering is enabled.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 20.4 or later

Fixed in 20.4

Interim mitigation

Upgrade Junos OS/Evolved to a patched version as listed in the Juniper advisory; implement network segmentation to limit BGP peering to trusted peers as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

20.4R3-S6 / 21.1R3-S5 / 21.2R3-S4 / 21.3R3-S3 / 21.4R3-S3 / 22.1R3 / 22.2R3 / 22.3R2 (or later stable releases)

1. Identify the current Junos OS/Evolved version running on the device using 'show version' command
2. Based on the current version, determine the appropriate patched release to upgrade to: For 20.4.x upgrade to 20.4R3-S6 or later; For 21.1.x upgrade to 21.1R3-S5 or later; For 21.2.x upgrade to 21.2R3-S4 or later; For 21.3.x upgrade to 21.3R3-S3 or later; For 21.4.x upgrade to 21.4R3-S3 or later; For 22.1.x upgrade to 22.1R3 or later; For 22.2.x upgrade to 22.2R3 or later; For 22.3.x upgrade to
3. Download the appropriate Junos upgrade package from the Juniper support portal (supportportal.juniper.net)
4. Upload the upgrade package to the device via SCP or USB
5. Initiate the upgrade using 'request system software add <package-name> reboot' command
6. After reboot, verify the new version is installed using 'show version'
7. Verify the routing protocol daemon (rpd) is running normally using 'show routing-daemon' or 'show system processes routing-slam'

Caveat Standard Junos upgrade considerations apply - verify hardware compatibility, review release notes for known issues, and ensure configuration compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation6.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

16.0 hours of engineering $2,840

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

supportportal.juniper.netVendor Advisory
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-44185 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-44185?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 20.4 or later

Severity 7.5 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.5%

Affects: Junos

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Junos 16 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $2,840

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2023-44185 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References