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Junos Os EvolvedOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-44189

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 21.4 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Origin Validation vulnerability in MAC address validation of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series allows a network-adjacent attacker to bypass MAC address checking, allowing MAC addresses not intended to reach the adjacent LAN to be forwarded to the downstream network. Due to this issue, the router will start forwarding traffic if a valid route is present in forwarding-table, causing a loop and congestion in the downstream layer-2 domain connected to the device. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series: * All versions prior to 21.4R3-S4-EVO; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S3-EVO; * 22.2 version 22.2R1-EVO and later versions; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R2-S2-EVO, 22.3R3-S1-EVO; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R2-S1-EVO, 22.4R3-EVO; * 23.2 versions prior to 23.2R2-EVO.

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

This is an Origin Validation vulnerability in MAC address validation in Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series routers. A network-adjacent attacker can bypass MAC address checking, allowing unintended MAC addresses to be forwarded to downstream networks. When a valid route exists in the forwarding table, the router forwards this traffic, causing loops and congestion in downstream layer-2 domains.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series to the fixed versions specified in the Juniper advisory (21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S3-EVO, 22.2R1-EVO and later, 22.3R2-S2-EVO/22.3R3-S1-EVO, 22.4R2-S1-EVO/22.4R3-EVO, or 23.2R2-EVO).

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
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:< 21.4= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3= 22.4= 23.2

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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 the hardware model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the device model to confirm it is a PTX10003 Series router
    Affected if The hardware is NOT a PTX10003 or PTX10003-xxx variant (vulnerability only affects PTX10003)
  2. Confirm Junos OS Evolved is running
    Run 'show version' or 'show system information' to verify the operating system is Junos OS Evolved
    Affected if The device is running a different Junos OS variant (vulnerability is specific to Junos OS Evolved)
  3. Determine the installed Junos OS Evolved version
    Run 'show version' and locate the Junos OS Evolved version number in the output
    Affected if The version matches: any release before 21.4, or exactly 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, or 23.2 (these are the affected versions)
  4. Verify layer-2 forwarding is configured
    Check for active layer-2 interfaces or bridging configuration using 'show bridge' or 'show l2-learning interface'
    Affected if Layer-2 bridging or switching features are actively enabled and forwarding traffic (vulnerability requires L2 forwarding to be exploitable)

The environment is affected if it is a PTX10003 Series router running Junos OS Evolved with a version in the affected list (pre-21.4, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, or 23.2) and has layer-2 forwarding features enabled.

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 21.4 or later
Fixed in 21.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series to the fixed versions specified in the Juniper advisory (21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S3-EVO, 22.2R1-EVO and later, 22.3R2-S2-EVO/22.3R3-S1-EVO, 22.4R2-S1-EVO/22.4R3-EVO, or 23.2R2-EVO).

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S3-EVO, 22.3R2-S2-EVO/22.3R3-S1-EVO, 22.4R2-S1-EVO/22.4R3-EVO, or 23.2R2-EVO depending on your version branch

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS Evolved version running on the PTX10003 device using 'show version'
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (21.4R3, 22.1R3, 22.3, 22.4, or 23.2) your current version belongs to
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from Juniper Networks support portal: 21.4R3-S4-EVO, 22.1R3-S3-EVO, 22.3R2-S2-EVO or 22.3R3-S1-EVO, 22.4R2-S1-EVO or 22.4R3-EVO, or 23.2R2-EVO
  4. 4. Upload the Junos OS Evolved software image to the device via FTP/SCP
  5. 5. Install the new software package using 'request system software add <package-name>'
  6. 6. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot' to apply the changes
  7. 7. Verify the new version is running with 'show version' and confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Standard Junos OS upgrade considerations apply - test in lab first, plan maintenance window as reboot is required

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

Fix this in Junos Os Evolved Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-44189 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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