CVE-2023-44194 Junos OS: An unauthenticated attacker with local access to the device can create a backdoor with root privileges

What is CVE-2023-44194?

CVE-2023-44194 is a high-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos, published on 12 Oct 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

An Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated attacker with local access to the device to create a backdoor with root privileges. The issue is caused by improper directory permissions on a certain system directory, allowing an attacker with access to this directory to create a backdoor with root privileges.

This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS:

* All 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-S1.

Weakness: CWE-276

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-44194?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Juniper Junos.

How do I fix CVE-2023-44194?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-44194 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2023-44194 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-44194 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 Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2020-1631 Juniper Junos OS Path Traversal Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2025-21590 Juniper Junos OS Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization Exploited Medium 6.7
• CVE-2023-36851 Juniper Junos OS SRX Series Missing Authentication for Critical Function Exploited Medium 5.3
• CVE-2023-36844 Juniper Junos OS EX Series PHP External Variable Modification Exploited Medium 5.3

All Juniper Junos vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-97hh-rrpx-8434.