# CVE-2022-22251: Privilege escalation in Junos OS

> Local low-privileged attackers can elevate permissions to take control of cSRX instances due to insecure password storage and file permissions.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Oct 2022
- **Updated:** 8 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hrjj-p4r3-74mg

## What is CVE-2022-22251?

CVE-2022-22251 is a high-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 18 Oct 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

On cSRX Series devices software permission issues in the container filesystem and stored files combined with storing passwords in a recoverable format in Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a local, low-privileged attacker to elevate their permissions to take control of any instance of a cSRX software deployment. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS 20.2 version 20.2R1 and later versions prior to 21.2R1 on cSRX Series.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials), CWE-275, CWE-257 (Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-22251?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-22251?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-22251 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-22251 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22251 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-2022-22251 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-22251 is a high-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 18 Oct 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-2022-22251 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-2022-22251/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22251/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-22251
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-22251
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-22251

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22251/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.