CVE-2023-44184 Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: High CPU load due to specific NETCONF command
Authenticated low-privileged attackers can cause control plane CPU exhaustion via specific NETCONF commands, requiring upgrades to Junos OS.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2023-44184?
CVE-2023-44184 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 12 Oct 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
An Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in the management daemon (mgd) process of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows a network-based authenticated low-privileged attacker, by executing a specific command via NETCONF, to cause a CPU Denial of Service to the device's control plane.
This issue affects:
Juniper Networks Junos OS
* All versions prior to 20.4R3-S7; * 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S5; * 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S5; * 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S4; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S2; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R2-S1, 22.3R3; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R1-S2, 22.4R2.
Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved
* All versions prior to 21.4R3-S4-EVO; * 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S2-EVO; * 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3-EVO; * 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R3-EVO; * 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R2-EVO.
An indicator of compromise can be seen by first determining if the NETCONF client is logged in and fails to log out after a reasonable period of time and secondly reviewing the WCPU percentage for the mgd process by running the following command:
mgd process example:
user@device-re#> show system processes extensive | match "mgd|PID" | except last PID USERNAME PRI NICE SIZE RES STATE C TIME WCPU COMMAND 92476 root 100 0 500M 89024K CPU3 3 57.5H 89.60% mgd <<<<<<<<<<< review the high cpu percentage. Example to check for NETCONF activity:
While there is no specific command that shows a specific session in use for NETCONF, you can review logs for UI_LOG_EVENT with "client-mode 'netconf'"
For example:
mgd[38121]: UI_LOGIN_EVENT: User 'root' login, class 'super-user' [38121], ssh-connection '10.1.1.1 201 55480 10.1.1.2 22', client-mode 'netconf'
Weakness: CWE-119
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-44184?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Juniper Junos, Juniper Junos Os Evolved.
How do I fix CVE-2023-44184?
No fix has been published for CVE-2023-44184 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-44184 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-44184 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Juniper Junos
- CVE-2023-36845 Juniper Junos OS EX Series and SRX Series PHP External Variable Modification
- CVE-2020-1631 Juniper Junos OS Path Traversal
- CVE-2025-21590 Juniper Junos OS Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization
- CVE-2023-36851 Juniper Junos OS SRX Series Missing Authentication for Critical Function
- CVE-2023-36844 Juniper Junos OS EX Series PHP External Variable Modification
Sources
Also known as GHSA-c9pj-4j3g-856x.