CVE-2022-22251

Local privilege escalation via recoverable credentials

Published Oct 18, 2022 · Updated May 8, 2025

Privilege escalation in Juniper Networks Junos OS 20.2R1 through 21.1 allows local users to control cSRX instances. The cSRX container filesystem combines overly permissive software and stored-file permissions with passwords kept in a recoverable form; Juniper has not disclosed the affected paths or credential transformation. A local low-privileged account is required, and successful exploitation grants control of any instance in the cSRX deployment.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Juniper Networks Junos OS 20.2R1 through 21.1 allows local users to control cSRX instances. The cSRX container filesystem combines overly permissive software and stored-file permissions with passwords kept in a recoverable form; Juniper has not disclosed the affected paths or credential transformation. A local low-privileged account is required, and successful exploitation grants control of any instance in the cSRX deployment.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-22251
Published
Oct 18, 2022
Updated
May 8, 2025
Vendor
Juniper Networks
Product
Junos OS
Classifications
CWE-275, CWE-257, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 18, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 8, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=20.2R1 <20.2*
  2. Affected versionversion=20.3R1 <20.3*
  3. Affected versionversion=20.4R1 <20.4*
  4. Affected versionversion=21.1R1 <21.1*

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Juniper Networks · Junos OSversion=20.2R1 <20.2*; version=20.3R1 <20.3*; version=20.4R1 <20.4*; version=21.1R1 <21.1*

Published CVSS scores

7.8Juniper NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-275Permission Issues
CWE-257Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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