CVE-2021-0272

MEDIUM

Juniper Junos OS DoS via Kernel Memory Leak in QFX10002/10008/10016

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Description

A kernel memory leak in QFX10002-32Q, QFX10002-60C, QFX10002-72Q, QFX10008, QFX10016 devices Flexible PIC Concentrators (FPCs) on Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an attacker to send genuine packets destined to the device to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) to the device. On QFX10002-32Q, QFX10002-60C, QFX10002-72Q devices the device will crash and restart. On QFX10008, QFX10016 devices, depending on the number of FPCs involved in an attack, one more more FPCs may crash and traffic through the device may be degraded in other ways, until the attack traffic stops. A reboot is required to restore service and clear the kernel memory. Continued receipt and processing of these genuine packets will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. On QFX10008, QFX10016 devices, an indicator of compromise may be the existence of DCPFE core files. You can also monitor PFE memory utilization for incremental growth: user@qfx-RE:0% cprod -A fpc0 -c "show heap 0" | grep -i ke 0 3788a1b0 3221225048 2417120656 804104392 24 Kernel user@qfx-RE:0% cprod -A fpc0 -c "show heap 0" | grep -i ke 0 3788a1b0 3221225048 2332332200 888892848 27 Kernel This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX10002-32Q, QFX10002-60C, QFX10002-72Q, QFX10008, QFX10016: 16.1 versions 16.1R1 and above prior to 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S9; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S2; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S11; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S3; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S5, 18.4R3-S4; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S2; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2. This issue does not affect releases prior to Junos OS 16.1R1. This issue does not affect EX Series devices. This issue does not affect Junos OS Evolved.

References (2)

Core 2
Core References
Vendor Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://kb.juniper.net/JSA11163
Vendor Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://kb.juniper.net/KB32854

Scores

CVSS v3 6.5
EPSS 0.0007
EPSS Percentile 20.4%
Attack Vector ADJACENT_NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-401
Status published
Products (3)
juniper/junos 16.1 r1 (29 CPE variants)
juniper/junos 16.2 (13 CPE variants)
juniper/junos 17.1 (8 CPE variants)
Published Apr 22, 2021
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026