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NVD / CVE Program· CNA juniper

CVE-2023-28972: Junos OS: NFX Series: 'set system ports console insecure' allows root password recovery

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 27/100)

  • 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: 0.36% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Physical access to the device is required. 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

An Improper Link Resolution Before File Access vulnerability in console port access of Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX Series allows an attacker to bypass console access controls. When "set system ports console insecure" is enabled, root login is disallowed for Junos OS as expected. However, the root password can be changed using "set system root-authentication plain-text-password" on NFX Series systems, leading to a possible administrative bypass with physical access to the console. Password recovery, changing the root password from a console, should not have been allowed from an insecure console. This is similar to the vulnerability described in CVE-2019-0035 but affects different platforms and in turn requires a different fix. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX Series: 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R3-S7; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S8; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S12; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S8; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S7; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S5; 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 22.1R3-S1; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S1, 22.2R3; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S2, 22.3R2.

MediumCVSS 6.8 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Apr 17, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 30th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

27

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
27 / 40 · 6.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · juniper
6.8
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.

Follow CVE-2023-28972

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
juniperjunos
junipernfx150
junipernfx250
junipernfx350

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • juniper junos19.2
  • juniper junos19.3
  • juniper junos19.4
  • juniper junos20.2
  • juniper junos20.4
  • juniper junos21.1
  • juniper junos21.2
  • juniper junos21.3
  • juniper junos21.4
  • juniper junos22.1
  • juniper junos22.2
  • juniper junos22.3

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

    • 19.2 and later · before 19.2R3-S7affected
    • 19.3 and later · before 19.3R3-S8affected
    • 19.4 and later · before 19.4R3-S12affected
    • 20.2 and later · before 20.2R3-S8affected
    • 20.4 and later · before 20.4R3-S7affected
    • 21.1 and later · before 21.1R3-S5affected
    • 21.2 and later · before 21.2R3-S4affected
    • 21.3 and later · before 21.3R3-S3affected
    • 21.4 and later · before 21.4R3-S2affected
    • 22.1 and later · before 22.1R3-S1affected

Same product

juniper: all records

Other 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 variableKEV
    98Now
  • CVE-2023-36846Junos OS: SRX Series: A vulnerability in J-Web allows an unauthenticated attacker to upload arbitrary filesKEV
    79This week
  • CVE-2023-36844Junos OS: EX Series: A PHP vulnerability in J-Web allows an unauthenticated attacker to control important environment variablesKEV
    78This week

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-28965Apr 17, 2023 · Junos OS: QFX10002: Failure of storm control feature may lead to Denial of Service
    30Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-28970Apr 17, 2023 · Junos OS: JRR200: Kernel crash upon receipt of a specific packet
    26Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-28974Apr 17, 2023 · Junos OS: MX Series: In a BBE scenario upon receipt of specific malformed packets from subscribers the process bbe-smgd will crash
    26Monitor

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 researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

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

  • Physical access to the device is required.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Physical
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

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.

All records