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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-44192

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 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 Input Validation vulnerability in the Packet Forwarding Engine of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to cause memory leak, leading to Denial of Service (DoS). On all Junos OS QFX5000 Series platforms, when pseudo-VTEP (Virtual Tunnel End Point) is configured under EVPN-VXLAN scenario, and specific DHCP packets are transmitted, DMA memory leak is observed. Continuous receipt of these specific DHCP packets will cause memory leak to reach 99% and then cause the protocols to stop working and traffic is impacted, leading to Denial of Service (DoS) condition. A manual reboot of the system recovers from the memory leak. To confirm the memory leak, monitor for "sheaf:possible leak" and "vtep not found" messages in the logs. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS QFX5000 Series: * All versions prior to 20.4R3-S6; * 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S5; * 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S5; * 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S4; * 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S3; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S2; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S2, 22.2R3; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R2-S1, 22.3R3; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R1-S2, 22.4R2.

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 memory leak vulnerability in Juniper Junos OS QFX5000 Series Packet Forwarding Engine occurs when pseudo-VTEP is configured under EVPN-VXLAN and processes specific DHCP packets. The flaw allows an unauthenticated network attacker to trigger DMA memory exhaustion (reaching 99%) by sending specially crafted DHCP packets, causing protocol failures and traffic disruption. A manual system reboot is required to recover.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied Junos OS patches for the specific version branches; alternatively, temporarily disable pseudo-VTEP configuration under EVPN-VXLAN as a mitigation until the patch can be deployed.

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= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 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
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? 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 device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the device model to confirm it is a QFX5000 Series switch (e.g., QFX5100, QFX5110, QFX5200, QFX5210, QFX5110, QFX5120)
    Affected if Device is not a QFX5000 Series switch - the vulnerability only affects this series
  2. Check Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' to display the installed Junos OS version
    Affected if Version is 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, or any version below 20.4 (all are in the affected range)
  3. Verify pseudo-VTEP configuration under EVPN-VXLAN
    Run 'show configuration' and search for 'pseudo-vtep' under the EVPN-VXLAN configuration hierarchy (e.g., protocols evpn vxlan-tunnel-endpoint)
    Affected if Pseudo-VTEP is configured under EVPN-VXLAN - this is the required configuration for the vulnerability to be exploitable
  4. Check Packet Forwarding Engine DMA memory usage
    Run 'show system memory' or 'show chassis fpc' to inspect DMA memory utilization on the Packet Forwarding Engine
    Affected if DMA memory usage is at or near 99%, indicating memory exhaustion from the leak
  5. Look for DHCP packet processing in EVPN-VXLAN context
    Review configuration for any DHCP relay or DHCP snooping settings interacting with the EVPN-VXLAN domain, and monitor for DHCP traffic patterns
    Affected if DHCP packets are being processed through the EVPN-VXLAN environment with pseudo-VTEP configured

A user is affected if they run a vulnerable Junos OS version (20.4 through 22.4 or below 20.4) on a QFX5000 Series switch with pseudo-VTEP configured under EVPN-VXLAN and are experiencing DMA memory exhaustion near 99%.

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 or later
Fixed in 20.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied Junos OS patches for the specific version branches; alternatively, temporarily disable pseudo-VTEP configuration under EVPN-VXLAN as a mitigation until the patch can be deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 20.4R3-S6 or later (or the equivalent fixed version in your release branch: 21.1R3-S5, 21.2R3-S5, 21.3R3-S4, 21.4R3-S3, 22.1R3-S2, 22.2R2-S2/22.2R3, 22.3R2-S1/22.3R3, or 22.4R1-S2/22.4R2)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the QFX5000 Series device using 'show version'
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version branch (20.4.x, 21.1.x, 21.2.x, 21.3.x, 21.4.x, 22.1.x, 22.2.x, 22.3.x, or 22.4.x)
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from Juniper Networks: 20.4R3-S6 or later, 21.1R3-S5 or later, 21.2R3-S5 or later, 21.3R3-S4 or later, 21.4R3-S3 or later, 22.1R3-S2 or later, 22.2R2-S2/22.2R3 or later, 22.3R2-S1/22.3R3 or later, or 22.4R1-S2/22.4R2 or later
  4. 4. Upload the Junos upgrade image to the device using 'file copy' or USB
  5. 5. Install the upgrade using 'request system software add <package-name> reboot'
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the new version with 'show version' and confirm the memory leak is resolved
  7. 7. Monitor logs for 'sheaf:possible leak' and 'vtep not found' messages to confirm the issue is remediated
Caveat Standard Junos upgrade best practices apply; test in lab environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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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-2023-44192 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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