# CVE-2016-1271: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain elevated privileges on Juniper Junos OS devices by executing crafted CLI command combinations.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Apr 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q4wv-hp9c-9wxv

## What is CVE-2016-1271?

CVE-2016-1271 is a high-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 15 Apr 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Juniper Junos OS before 12.1X46-D45, 12.1X47 before 12.1X47-D30, 12.3 before 12.3R11, 12.3X48 before 12.3X48-D25, 13.2 before 13.2R8, 13.3 before 13.3R7, 14.1 before 14.1R6, 14.2 before 14.2R4, 15.1 before 15.1R1 or 15.1F2, and 15.1X49 before 15.1X49-D15 allow local users to gain privileges via crafted combinations of CLI commands and arguments, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3003, CVE-2014-3816, and CVE-2014-0615.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1271?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1271?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-1271 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-1271 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1271 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Juniper Junos

- [CVE-2023-36845](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36845/): Juniper Junos OS EX Series and SRX Series PHP External Variable Modification (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-1631](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1631/): Juniper Junos OS Path Traversal (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-21590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21590/): Juniper Junos OS Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization (medium 6.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-36851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36851/): Juniper Junos OS SRX Series Missing Authentication for Critical Function (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-36844](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36844/): Juniper Junos OS EX Series PHP External Variable Modification (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-1271 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1271 is a high-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 15 Apr 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1271 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Juniper Junos. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1271/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1271/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1271
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1271
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1271

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1271/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.