# CVE-2022-22168: Junos OS: vMX and MX150: Specific packets might cause a memory leak and eventually an FPC reboot

> An unauthenticated adjacent attacker can cause a memory leak leading to an FPC reboot and Denial of Service on Juniper vMX and MX150 devices.

- **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:** 19 Jan 2022
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m467-8fv2-x525

## What is CVE-2022-22168?

CVE-2022-22168 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 19 Jan 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input vulnerability in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to trigger a Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability. Continued exploitation of this vulnerability will eventually lead to an FPC reboot and thereby a Denial of Service (DoS). This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on vMX and MX150: All versions prior to 19.2R1-S8, 19.2R3-S4; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S5; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S5, 19.4R3-S6; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R3-S2; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S1; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R2-S1, 21.1R3; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R1-S1, 21.2R2; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R1-S1, 21.3R2.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime), CWE-1287 (Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-22168?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-22168?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-22168 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-22168 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22168 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-2022-22168 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-22168 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 19 Jan 2022. 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-2022-22168 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-2022-22168/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22168/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-22168
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-22168
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-22168

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22168/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.