CVE-2021-0230 : What You Need to Know

A memory leak vulnerability in Juniper Networks SRX Series devices with link aggregation (lag) configured could lead to a slow kernel memory leak when fetching Aggregated Ethernet (AE) interface statistics. This issue affects specific versions of Junos OS on SRX Series platforms, potentially impacting system performance and requiring a reboot in extreme cases.

Understanding CVE-2021-0230

This CVE identifies a critical memory leak vulnerability in Juniper Networks SRX Series devices that could result in service disruption and necessitate system reboots.

What is CVE-2021-0230?

On SRX Series devices with link aggregation configured, fetching AE interface statistics may trigger a kernel memory leak, affecting system stability and potentially requiring a device reboot.

The Impact of CVE-2021-0230

The vulnerability could lead to memory exhaustion, impacting system performance and requiring manual intervention like system reboots to restore normal operation.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-0230

The vulnerability affects Junos OS on SRX Series platforms with specific versions, causing slow memory leaks and potential service disruptions.

Vulnerability Description

Executing operations to fetch AE interface statistics can trigger a memory leak, affecting system stability and possibly requiring a reboot to mitigate.

Affected Systems and Versions

Junos OS on SRX Series platforms including versions 17.1 up to 20.3 are susceptible to this memory leak vulnerability, impacting system performance.

Exploitation Mechanism

There is currently no known malicious exploitation of this vulnerability by Juniper SIRT, indicating that the risk of exploitation is low.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address this issue, Juniper Networks has released software updates that resolve the memory leak vulnerability on affected versions of Junos OS.

Immediate Steps to Take

Administrators are advised to apply the recommended software updates promptly to fix the vulnerability and prevent potential service disruptions.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitoring system memory usage and promptly applying vendor-released updates can help prevent memory leak vulnerabilities and ensure system security.

Patching and Updates

The following software releases have been updated to address this issue: 17.3R3-S11, 17.4R3-S5, 18.2R3-S7, 18.2R3-S8, 18.3R3-S4, 18.4R2-S7, 18.4R3-S6, 19.1R3-S4, 19.2R1-S6, 19.3R3-S1, 19.4R3-S1, 20.1R2, 20.1R3, 20.2R2-S2, 20.2R3, 20.3R1-S2, 20.3R2, 20.4R1, and all subsequent releases.