# CVE-2023-28975: Junos OS: The kernel will crash when certain USB devices are inserted

> An attacker with physical access can cause a kernel crash and device reboot by inserting specific USB devices into Junos OS routing engines.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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:** 17 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 5 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gvw8-8fq4-qmw5

## What is CVE-2023-28975?

CVE-2023-28975 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 17 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An Unexpected Status Code or Return Value vulnerability in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to cause a Denial of Service (DoS). When certain USB devices are connected to a USB port of the routing-engine (RE), the kernel will crash leading to a reboot of the device. The device will continue to crash as long as the USB device is connected. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: All versions prior to 19.4R3-S10; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S7; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S6; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S5; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S4; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S4; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S2; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2-S2, 22.1R3; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2, 22.2R3; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S1, 22.3R2; 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R2.

Weakness: CWE-754 (Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions), CWE-394 (Unexpected Status Code or Return Value)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-28975?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Juniper Junos.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-28975?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-28975 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-28975 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-28975 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-2023-28975 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-28975 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 17 Apr 2023. 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-2023-28975 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-2023-28975/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28975/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-28975
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28975
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-28975

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28975/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.