CVE-2021-0283: Junos OS: Upon receipt of specific sequences of genuine packets destined to the device the kernel will crash and restart (vmcore)
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.99% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 62.5% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
A buffer overflow vulnerability in the TCP/IP stack of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an attacker to send specific sequences of packets to the device thereby causing a Denial of Service (DoS). By repeatedly sending these sequences of packets to the device, an attacker can sustain the Denial of Service (DoS) condition. The device will abnormally shut down as a result of these sent packets. A potential indicator of compromise will be the following message in the log files: "eventd[13955]: SYSTEM_ABNORMAL_SHUTDOWN: System abnormally shut down" These issue are only triggered by traffic destined to the device. Transit traffic will not trigger these issues. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS 12.3 versions prior to 12.3R12-S19; 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S10; 16.1 version 16.1R1 and later versions; 16.2 version 16.2R1 and later versions; 17.1 version 17.1R1 and later versions; 17.2 version 17.2R1 and later versions; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S12; 17.4 version 17.4R1 and later versions; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S13; 18.2 version 18.2R1 and later versions; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S9, 18.4R3-S9; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S6; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S7, 19.2R3-S3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S7, 19.3R3-S3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S5; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2-S2, 20.1R3-S1; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S2; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R2-S1, 20.4R3; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R1-S1, 21.1R2; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R1-S1, 21.2R2.
- Published
- Jul 15, 2021
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.9% · 62th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-120
Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.9%
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · juniper
- 7.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| juniper | junos | cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- juniper junos12.3
- juniper junos15.1
- juniper junos16.1
- juniper junos16.2
- juniper junos17.1
- juniper junos17.2
- juniper junos17.3
- juniper junos18.1
- juniper junos18.2
- juniper junos18.3
- juniper junos18.4
- juniper junos19.1
- juniper junos19.2
- juniper junos19.3
- juniper junos19.4
- juniper junos20.1
- juniper junos20.2
- juniper junos20.3
- juniper junos20.4
- juniper junos21.1
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (juniper). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Juniper Networks Junos OS
- 12.3 and later · before 12.3R12-S19affected
- 15.1 and later · before 15.1R7-S10affected
- 16.1R1 and later · before 16.1*affected
- 16.2R1 and later · before 16.2*affected
- 17.1R1 and later · before 17.1*affected
- 17.2R1 and later · before 17.2*affected
- 17.3 and later · before 17.3R3-S12affected
- 17.4R1 and later · before 17.4*affected
- 18.1 and later · before 18.1R3-S13affected
- 18.2R1 and later · before 18.2*affected
Same product
juniper: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-36845Junos OS: EX and SRX Series: A PHP vulnerability in J-Web allows an unauthenticated to control an important environment variableKEV98Now
- CVE-2023-36846Junos OS: SRX Series: A vulnerability in J-Web allows an unauthenticated attacker to upload arbitrary filesKEV79This week
- CVE-2023-36844Junos OS: EX Series: A PHP vulnerability in J-Web allows an unauthenticated attacker to control important environment variablesKEV78This week
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2021-0281Jul 15, 2021 · Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: Specific packets can trigger rpd crash when BGP Origin Validation is configured with RPKI30Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2021-0282Jul 15, 2021 · Junos OS: RPD crash while processing a specific BGP UPDATE when Multipath or add-path features are enabled30Monitor
- Later →CVE-2021-0285Jul 15, 2021 · Junos OS: QFX5000 Series and EX4600 Series: Continuous traffic destined to a device configured with MC-LAG leading to nodes losing their control connection whic30Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-120 · Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-secondary
Root cause
When data is copied, the source length is not compared with the size of the destination buffer. Excess data overwrites adjacent memory.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-120 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
char buf[256];
memcpy(buf, pkt->data, pkt->len);Fixed
char buf[256];
if (pkt->len > sizeof(buf)) {
return -EINVAL;
}
memcpy(buf, pkt->data, pkt->len);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Overflow BuffersCAPEC-100likelihood: High · Very High
- Client-side Injection-induced Buffer OverflowCAPEC-14likelihood: Medium · High
- Filter Failure through Buffer OverflowCAPEC-24likelihood: High · High
- MIME ConversionCAPEC-42likelihood: High · High
- Overflow Binary Resource FileCAPEC-44likelihood: High · Very High
- Buffer Overflow via Symbolic LinksCAPEC-45likelihood: High · High
- Overflow Variables and TagsCAPEC-46likelihood: High · High
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.