# CVE-2021-31379: Denial of service in Junos OS

> Attackers can cause a sustained Denial of Service on Juniper MX Series devices by sending malformed packets when MAP-E IP reassembly is enabled.

- **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:** 19 Oct 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g3mf-xh9x-gcpp

## What is CVE-2021-31379?

CVE-2021-31379 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 19 Oct 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An Incorrect Behavior Order vulnerability in the MAP-E automatic tunneling mechanism of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an attacker to send certain malformed IPv4 or IPv6 packets to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) to the PFE on the device which is disabled as a result of the processing of these packets. Continued receipt and processing of these malformed IPv4 or IPv6 packets will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue only affects MPC 7/8/9/10/11 cards, when MAP-E IP reassembly is enabled on these cards. An indicator of compromise is the output: FPC ["FPC ID" # e.g. "0"] PFE #{PFE ID # e.g. "1"] : Fabric Disabled Example: FPC 0 PFE #1 : Fabric Disabled when using the command: show chassis fabric fpcs An example of a healthy result of the command use would be: user@device-re1> show chassis fabric fpcs Fabric management FPC state: FPC 0 PFE #0 Plane 0: Plane enabled Plane 1: Plane enabled Plane 2: Plane enabled Plane 3: Plane enabled Plane 4: Plane enabled Plane 5: Plane enabled Plane 6: Plane enabled Plane 7: Plane enabled This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series with MPC 7/8/9/10/11 cards, when MAP-E IP reassembly is enabled on these cards. 17.2 version 17.2R1 and later versions; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S9; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R2-S12, 17.4R3-S3; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S11; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R2-S6, 18.2R3-S3; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R2-S4, 18.3R3-S1; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S8, 18.4R2-S5, 18.4R3; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R1-S6, 19.1R2-S2, 19.1R3; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S5, 19.2R2; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S5, 19.3R3. This issue does not affect Juniper Networks Junos OS versions prior to 17.2R1.

Weakness: CWE-696 (Incorrect Behavior Order)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-31379?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-31379?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-31379 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-31379 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-31379 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-2021-31379 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-31379 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 19 Oct 2021. 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-2021-31379 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-2021-31379/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31379/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-31379
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31379
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-31379

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31379/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.