# CVE-2021-0228: Junos OS: MX Series: DDoS LACP violation upon receipt of specific layer 2 frames in EVPN-VXLAN deployment

> Attackers can cause a denial of service on Juniper MX Series devices by sending specific Layer 2 frames in EVPN-VXLAN configurations.

- **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-389v-3v24-gh3w

## What is CVE-2021-0228?

CVE-2021-0228 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

An improper check for unusual or exceptional conditions vulnerability in Juniper Networks MX Series platforms with Trio-based MPC (Modular Port Concentrator) deployed in (Ethernet VPN) EVPN-(Virtual Extensible LAN) VXLAN configuration, may allow an attacker sending specific Layer 2 traffic to cause Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection to trigger unexpectedly, resulting in traffic impact. Continued receipt and processing of this specific Layer 2 frames will sustain the Denial of Service (DoS) condition. An indication of compromise is to check DDOS LACP violations: user@device> show ddos-protection protocols statistics brief | match lacp This issue only affects the MX Series platforms with Trio-based MPC. No other products or platforms are affected. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series: 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S9; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S11; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S4; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S12; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R2-S8, 18.2R3-S8; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S4; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S8, 18.4R2-S7, 18.4R3-S7; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S4; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S6; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S2; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S4, 19.4R3-S2; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2, 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R2-S1, 20.2R3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R1-S1, 20.3R2;

Weakness: CWE-754 (Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0228?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-0228?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-0228 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-0228 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0228 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-2021-0228 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-0228 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-2021-0228 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-2021-0228/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0228/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-0228
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-0228
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-0228

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0228/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.