CVE-2021-0240

Sustained service interruption via malformed DHCPv6 packets

Published Apr 22, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Denial of service in affected Juniper Networks Junos OS 17.3 through 20.4 releases allows remote attackers to restart JDHCPD via DHCPv6. JDHCPD mishandles an exceptional condition while processing a malformed DHCPv6 packet, causing the daemon to crash and automatically restart. Only DHCPv6 local-server or relay-agent configurations are exposed; repeated packets sustain the interruption, while DHCPv4 is unaffected.

CVSS severity7.4
High
EPSS probability0.40%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Denial of service in affected Juniper Networks Junos OS 17.3 through 20.4 releases allows remote attackers to restart JDHCPD via DHCPv6. JDHCPD mishandles an exceptional condition while processing a malformed DHCPv6 packet, causing the daemon to crash and automatically restart. Only DHCPv6 local-server or relay-agent configurations are exposed; repeated packets sustain the interruption, while DHCPv4 is unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0240
Published
Apr 22, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Juniper Networks
Product
Junos OS
Classifications
CWE-755, CWE-703, T1499.004
Attack vector
adjacent
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=17.3 <17.3R3-S12
  2. Affected versionversion=17.4 <17.4R3-S5
  3. Affected versionversion=18.1 <18.1R3-S13
  4. Affected versionversion=18.2 <18.2R3-S8
  5. Affected versionversion=18.3 <18.3R3-S5
  6. Affected versionversion=18.4 <18.4R1-S8, 18.4R3-S7
  7. Affected versionversion=19.1 <19.1R3-S5
  8. Affected versionversion=19.2 <19.2R3-S2
  9. Affected versionversion=19.3 <19.3R3-S2
  10. Affected versionversion=19.4 <19.4R3-S2
  11. Affected versionversion=20.1 <20.1R3
  12. Affected versionversion=20.2 <20.2R2-S3, 20.2R3
  13. Affected versionversion=20.3 <20.3R2
  14. Affected versionversion=20.4 <20.4R2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Juniper Networks · Junos OSversion=17.3 <17.3R3-S12; version=17.4 <17.4R3-S5; version=18.1 <18.1R3-S13; version=18.2 <18.2R3-S8; version=18.3 <18.3R3-S5; version=18.4 <18.4R1-S8, 18.4R3-S7; version=19.1 <19.1R3-S5; version=19.2 <19.2R3-S2; version=19.3 <19.3R3-S2; version=19.4 <19.4R3-S2; version=20.1 <20.1R3; version=20.2 <20.2R2-S3, 20.2R3; version=20.3 <20.3R2; version=20.4 <20.4R2

Published CVSS scores

6.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.9NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.4Juniper NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-755Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions
CWE-703Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo