CVE-2021-0230Network attack vector

Traffic interruption via AE statistics memory leak

Published Apr 22, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Resource exhaustion in Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series allows remote attackers to interrupt traffic via AE statistics queries. When link aggregation is configured, each operation that fetches Aggregated Ethernet interface statistics leaks kernel memory instead of releasing it. An affected SRX device must have link aggregation configured; sustained queries can exhaust memory, disrupt traffic, and require a reboot.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.96%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series allows remote attackers to interrupt traffic via AE statistics queries. When link aggregation is configured, each operation that fetches Aggregated Ethernet interface statistics leaks kernel memory instead of releasing it. An affected SRX device must have link aggregation configured; sustained queries can exhaust memory, disrupt traffic, and require a reboot.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0230
Published
Apr 22, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Juniper Networks
Product
Junos OS
Classifications
CWE-401, CWE-400, T1499.002
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 22, 2021CVE 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=17.1R3 <17.1*
  2. Affected versionversion=17.3 <17.3R3-S11
  3. Affected versionversion=17.4 <17.4R3-S5
  4. Affected versionversion=18.2 <18.2R3-S7, 18.2R3-S8
  5. Affected versionversion=18.3 <18.3R3-S4
  6. Affected versionversion=18.4 <18.4R2-S7, 18.4R3-S6
  7. Affected versionversion=19.1 <19.1R3-S4
  8. Affected versionversion=19.2 <19.2R1-S6
  9. Affected versionversion=19.3 <19.3R3-S1
  10. Affected versionversion=19.4 <19.4R3-S1
  11. Affected versionversion=20.1 <20.1R2, 20.1R3
  12. Affected versionversion=20.2 <20.2R2-S2, 20.2R3
  13. Affected versionversion=20.3 <20.3R1-S2, 20.3R2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Juniper Networks · Junos OSversion=17.1R3 <17.1*; version=17.3 <17.3R3-S11; version=17.4 <17.4R3-S5; version=18.2 <18.2R3-S7, 18.2R3-S8; version=18.3 <18.3R3-S4; version=18.4 <18.4R2-S7, 18.4R3-S6; version=19.1 <19.1R3-S4; version=19.2 <19.2R1-S6; version=19.3 <19.3R3-S1; version=19.4 <19.4R3-S1; version=20.1 <20.1R2, 20.1R3; version=20.2 <20.2R2-S2, 20.2R3; version=20.3 <20.3R1-S2, 20.3R2

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.5Juniper NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.002Service Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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