# CVE-2017-10615: Junos: Potential remote code execution vulnerability in PAM

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary code or crash daemons via a vulnerability in the Junos OS PAM module.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Oct 2017
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g5m5-p4w3-7p3m

## What is CVE-2017-10615?

CVE-2017-10615 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 13 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the pluggable authentication module (PAM) of Juniper Networks Junos OS may allow an unauthenticated network based attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code or crash daemons such as telnetd or sshd that make use of PAM. Affected Juniper Networks Junos OS releases are: 14.1 from 14.1R5 prior to 14.1R8-S4, 14.1R9; 14.1X53 prior to 14.1X53-D50 on EX and QFX series; 14.2 from 14.2R3 prior to 14.2R7-S8, 14.2R8; No other Junos OS releases are affected by this issue. No other Juniper Networks products are affected by this issue.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-10615?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-10615?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-10615 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-10615 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-10615 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-2017-10615 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-10615 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 13 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-10615 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-2017-10615/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-10615/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-10615
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-10615
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-10615

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-10615/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.