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Junos Os EvolvedOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-44196

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.4 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
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 Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions in the Packet Forwarding Engine (pfe) of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series allows an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to cause an impact to the integrity of the system. When specific transit MPLS packets are received by the PFE, these packets are internally forwarded to the RE. This issue is a prerequisite for CVE-2023-44195. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: * All versions prior to 20.4R3-S8-EVO; * 21.1-EVO version 21.1R1-EVO and later; * 21.2-EVO versions prior to 21.2R3-S6-EVO; * 21.3-EVO version 21.3R1-EVO and later; * 21.4-EVO versions prior to 21.4R3-S3-EVO; * 22.1-EVO versions prior to 22.1R3-S4-EVO; * 22.2-EVO versions prior to 22.2R3-S3-EVO; * 22.3-EVO versions prior to 22.3R2-S2-EVO, 22.3R3-EVO; * 22.4-EVO versions prior to 22.4R2-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

Improper check for unusual or exceptional conditions in the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10003 Series allows unauthenticated adjacent attacker to cause integrity impact by sending specific transit MPLS packets that are improperly forwarded internally to the Routing Engine (RE). This vulnerability serves as a prerequisite for CVE-2023-44195.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS Evolved to the fixed versions specified in the advisory (20.4R3-S8-EVO, 21.2R3-S6-EVO, 21.4R3-S3-EVO, 22.1R3-S4-EVO, 22.2R3-S3-EVO, 22.3R2-S2-EVO/22.3R3-EVO, or 22.4R2-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:< 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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

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 device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the device model to confirm it is a PTX10003 Series router
    Affected if Device is a PTX10003 (PTX10003-80C, PTX10003-160C, etc.)
  2. Check Junos OS Evolved version
    Run 'show version invoke-on all-routing-engine' or 'show version' to identify the installed Junos OS Evolved version
    Affected if Version matches: < 20.4, = 20.4, = 21.1, = 21.2, = 21.3, = 21.4, = 22.1, = 22.2, = 22.3, or = 22.4
  3. Verify MPLS configuration
    Run 'show configuration protocols mpls' to check if MPLS is configured on the device
    Affected if MPLS protocol is enabled and configured on any interface
  4. Check for transit MPLS traffic
    Run 'show mpls interface' to see which interfaces have MPLS enabled and are potentially processing transit traffic
    Affected if Device has MPLS-enabled interfaces actively processing transit MPLS packets

Device is affected if it is a PTX10003 Series running a vulnerable Junos OS Evolved version (20.4 through 22.4) with MPLS enabled and processing transit traffic.

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

Upgrade Junos OS Evolved to the fixed versions specified in the advisory (20.4R3-S8-EVO, 21.2R3-S6-EVO, 21.4R3-S3-EVO, 22.1R3-S4-EVO, 22.2R3-S3-EVO, 22.3R2-S2-EVO/22.3R3-EVO, or 22.4R2-EVO).

Recommended fix High confidence

20.4R3-S8-EVO, 21.2R3-S6-EVO, 21.4R3-S3-EVO, 22.1R3-S4-EVO, 22.2R3-S3-EVO, 22.3R3-EVO, or 22.4R2-EVO (depending on which release train is appropriate for your deployment)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS Evolved version running on the affected PTX10003 device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Based on the current version, determine the minimum fixed release needed according to the remediation guidance
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed Junos OS Evolved image from the Juniper Networks support portal
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require system downtime
  5. 5. Backup the current configuration using 'request system configuration rescue save'
  6. 6. Upgrade the device using 'request system software add <package-name>' followed by 'request system reboot'
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version with 'show version' and confirm system stability
Caveat Standard Junos OS upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any configuration changes or migration requirements before upgrading

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
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-44196 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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