# CVE-2021-0216: Junos OS: ACX5448, ACX710: BFD sessions might flap due to high rate of transit ARP packets

> High-rate transit ARP packets cause BFD session flaps on Juniper ACX routers, disrupting routing protocols and causing network denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p2qm-vw5x-72gx

## What is CVE-2021-0216?

CVE-2021-0216 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 22 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS running on the ACX5448 and ACX710 platforms may cause BFD sessions to flap when a high rate of transit ARP packets are received. This, in turn, may impact routing protocols and network stability, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. When a high rate of transit ARP packets are exceptioned to the CPU and BFD flaps, the following log messages may be seen: bfdd[15864]: BFDD_STATE_UP_TO_DOWN: BFD Session 192.168.14.3 (IFL 232) state Up -> Down LD/RD(17/19) Up time:11:38:17 Local diag: CtlExpire Remote diag: None Reason: Detect Timer Expiry. bfdd[15864]: BFDD_TRAP_SHOP_STATE_DOWN: local discriminator: 17, new state: down, interface: irb.998, peer addr: 192.168.14.3 rpd[15839]: RPD_ISIS_ADJDOWN: IS-IS lost L2 adjacency to peer on irb.998, reason: BFD Session Down bfdd[15864]: BFDD_TRAP_SHOP_STATE_UP: local discriminator: 17, new state: up, interface: irb.998, peer addr: 192.168.14.3 This issue only affects the ACX5448 Series and ACX710 Series routers. No other products or platforms are affected by this vulnerability. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3-S8 on ACX5448; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5 on ACX5448; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S6, 18.4R3-S7 on ACX5448; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S5 on ACX5448; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R2, 19.2R3 on ACX5448; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3 on ACX5448; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3 on ACX5448; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2 on ACX5448; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R2 on ACX5448 and ACX710.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0216?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-0216?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-0216 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-0216 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0216 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-2021-0216 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-0216 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 22 Apr 2021. 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-2021-0216 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-2021-0216/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0216/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-0216
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-0216
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-0216

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0216/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.