CVE-2020-1615Network attack vector

Unauthenticated root access via factory credentials

Published Apr 8, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Hard-coded credentials in Juniper Networks Junos OS on vMX allow remote attackers to gain unauthorized root access over the network. The shipped vMX factory configuration embeds default credentials for the root account instead of requiring a unique secret during deployment. Exposure requires an administrator to leave those credentials unchanged, after which unauthenticated network access grants full root control of the virtual router.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.77%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Hard-coded credentials in Juniper Networks Junos OS on vMX allow remote attackers to gain unauthorized root access over the network. The shipped vMX factory configuration embeds default credentials for the root account instead of requiring a unique secret during deployment. Exposure requires an administrator to leave those credentials unchanged, after which unauthenticated network access grants full root control of the virtual router.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-1615
Published
Apr 8, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Juniper Networks
Product
Junos OS
Classifications
CWE-798, T1078.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 8, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=17.1 <17.1R2-S11, 17.1R3-S2
  2. Affected versionversion=17.2 <17.2R3-S3
  3. Affected versionversion=17.3 <17.3R2-S5, 17.3R3-S7
  4. Affected versionversion=17.4 <17.4R2-S9, 17.4R3
  5. Affected versionversion=18.1 <18.1R3-S9
  6. Affected versionversion=18.2 <18.2R2-S7, 18.2R3-S3
  7. Affected versionversion=18.2X75 <18.2X75-D420, 18.2X75-D60
  8. Affected versionversion=18.3 <18.3R1-S7, 18.3R2-S3, 18.3R3-S1
  9. Affected versionversion=18.4 <18.4R1-S5, 18.4R2-S3, 18.4R3
  10. Affected versionversion=19.1 <19.1R1-S4, 19.1R2, 19.1R3
  11. Affected versionversion=19.2 <19.2R1-S3, 19.2R2
  12. Affected versionversion=19.3 <19.3R1-S1, 19.3R2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Juniper Networks · Junos OSversion=17.1 <17.1R2-S11, 17.1R3-S2; version=17.2 <17.2R3-S3; version=17.3 <17.3R2-S5, 17.3R3-S7; version=17.4 <17.4R2-S9, 17.4R3; version=18.1 <18.1R3-S9; version=18.2 <18.2R2-S7, 18.2R3-S3; version=18.2X75 <18.2X75-D420, 18.2X75-D60; version=18.3 <18.3R1-S7, 18.3R2-S3, 18.3R3-S1; version=18.4 <18.4R1-S5, 18.4R2-S3, 18.4R3; version=19.1 <19.1R1-S4, 19.1R2, 19.1R3; version=19.2 <19.2R1-S3, 19.2R2; version=19.3 <19.3R1-S1, 19.3R2

Published CVSS scores

9.8Juniper Networks, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
10.0NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
T1078.001Valid Accounts: Default Accounts

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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