# CVE-2020-1648: Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: RPD crash when processing a specific BGP packet

> Attackers can cause a routing process daemon crash and restart by sending specific BGP packets, leading to extended denial of service on Juniper devices.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 17 Jul 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-52x8-4mc9-26r2

## What is CVE-2020-1648?

CVE-2020-1648 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 17 Jul 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

On Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved devices, processing a specific BGP packet can lead to a routing process daemon (RPD) crash and restart. This issue can occur even before the BGP session with the peer is established. Repeated receipt of this specific BGP packet can result in an extended Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS: 18.2X75 versions starting from 18.2X75-D50.8, 18.2X75-D60 and later versions, prior to 18.2X75-D52.8, 18.2X75-D53, 18.2X75-D60.2, 18.2X75-D65.1, 18.2X75-D70; 19.4 versions 19.4R1 and 19.4R1-S1; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R1-S2, 20.1R2. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: 19.4-EVO versions prior to 19.4R2-S2-EVO; 20.1-EVO versions prior to 20.1R2-EVO. This issue does not affect: Juniper Networks Junos OS releases prior to 19.4R1. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved releases prior to 19.4R1-EVO.

Weakness: CWE-690 (Unchecked Return Value to NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-159 (Improper Handling of Invalid Use of Special Elements)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-1648?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Juniper Junos, Juniper Junos Os Evolved.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-1648?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-1648 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-1648 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1648 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-2020-1648 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-1648 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 17 Jul 2020. 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-2020-1648 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-2020-1648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1648/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-1648
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1648
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-1648

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1648/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.