CVE-2023-44184 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

This article discusses the CVE-2023-44184 vulnerability affecting Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved, leading to high CPU load due to a specific NETCONF command.

Understanding CVE-2023-44184

This section covers the details of the vulnerability, its impact, technical descriptions, affected systems, exploitation mechanism, and mitigation strategies.

What is CVE-2023-44184?

An Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in the management daemon (mgd) process of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows a network-based authenticated low-privileged attacker to cause a CPU Denial of Service via a specific NETCONF command.

The Impact of CVE-2023-44184

The vulnerability affects various versions of Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved, potentially leading to a high CPU load and disruption of the device's control plane.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-44184

This section provides more insight into the vulnerability, including the vulnerability description, affected systems and versions, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in the mgd process allows an attacker to execute a specific command via NETCONF, causing a CPU Denial of Service.

Affected Systems and Versions

Multiple versions of Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved are affected by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

The attacker can exploit this vulnerability by executing a specific command via NETCONF, leading to a CPU Denial of Service.

Mitigation and Prevention

In the event of CVE-2023-44184, immediate steps need to be taken to mitigate the vulnerability and prevent any potential exploits.

Immediate Steps to Take

There are no known workarounds for this issue, but restarting the management daemon periodically can temporarily clear the impact.

Long-Term Security Practices

To reduce the risk of exploitation, enable access control lists (ACLs) and other filtering mechanisms to limit access to the device only from trusted hosts and networks to the NETCONF service.

Patching and Updates

Juniper Networks has released updated software versions to resolve this specific issue for Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved.