CVE-2023-22410 : What You Need to Know

This CVE record was published by Juniper on January 12, 2023. It involves a vulnerability in Junos OS that allows an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) on MX Series platforms with specific configurations.

Understanding CVE-2023-22410

This CVE relates to a "Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime" vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS. When the Suspicious Control Flow Detection (scfd) feature is enabled on MX Series platforms with MPC10/MPC11 line cards, an attacker sending specific traffic can trigger a memory leak, leading to a DoS condition.

What is CVE-2023-22410?

The vulnerability in CVE-2023-22410 allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit the scfd feature in Junos OS on MX Series platforms with specific line cards, causing memory allocated dynamically to not be freed. This can result in an out-of-memory condition, disrupting services and requiring a manual restart to recover.

The Impact of CVE-2023-22410

The impact of this vulnerability is categorized as HIGH, with an availability impact. A successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to a complete service disruption on the affected devices, impacting operational continuity.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-22410

This section provides details on the vulnerability, affected systems, and how the exploitation occurs.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from a flaw in memory management within Junos OS when the scfd feature is enabled, leading to a memory leak scenario upon receiving specific traffic from an attacker.

Affected Systems and Versions

Juniper Networks Junos OS versions prior to 20.2R3-S5 and 20.3 versions up to 20.3R1 are vulnerable. This issue affects MX Series platforms with particular line cards.

Exploitation Mechanism

To exploit this vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker needs to send specific traffic to devices with the scfd feature enabled. This triggers the memory leak, eventually causing an out-of-memory condition.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2023-22410, immediate steps, security best practices, and software updates are essential.

Immediate Steps to Take

Monitor FPC memory usage using the CLI command "show chassis fpc" to detect memory leaks related to AftDdosScfdFlow. Disable the scfd feature if not essential.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update Junos OS to the latest patched versions to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure system resilience against potential attacks.

Patching and Updates

Juniper has released software updates to resolve CVE-2023-22410. Users are advised to upgrade to the fixed versions, including 20.2R3-S5, 20.4R1, and subsequent releases to prevent exploitation of this issue. No known workarounds exist for this vulnerability.