CVE-2020-1668: On Juniper Networks EX2300 Series, receipt of a stream of specific multicast packets by the layer2 interface can cause high CPU load, which could lead...

Description

On Juniper Networks EX2300 Series, receipt of a stream of specific multicast packets by the layer2 interface can cause high CPU load, which could lead to traffic interruption. This issue occurs when multicast packets are received by the layer 2 interface. To check if the device has high CPU load due to this issue, the administrator can issue the following command: user@host> show chassis routing-engine Routing Engine status: ... Idle 2 percent the "Idle" value shows as low (2 % in the example above), and also the following command: user@host> show system processes summary ... PID USERNAME PRI NICE SIZE RES STATE TIME WCPU COMMAND 11639 root 52 0 283M 11296K select 12:15 44.97% eventd 11803 root 81 0 719M 239M RUN 251:12 31.98% fxpc{fxpc} the eventd and the fxpc processes might use higher WCPU percentage (respectively 44.97% and 31.98% in the above example). This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on EX2300 Series: 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S11; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R2-S4, 18.3R3-S3; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S5, 18.4R3-S4; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S2; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S5, 19.2R3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S4, 19.3R3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R1-S3, 19.4R2-S1, 19.4R3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R1-S2, 20.1R2.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

6.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.50%

39.1th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-400

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Juniper	Junos	18.1	—
Juniper	Junos	18.2	—
Juniper	Junos	18.3	—
Juniper	Junos	18.4	—
Juniper	Junos	19.1	—
Juniper	Junos	19.2	—
Juniper	Junos	19.3	—
Juniper	Junos	19.4	R1
Juniper	Junos	20.1	R1

References

https://kb.juniper.net/JSA11065Vendor Advisory
https://kb.juniper.net/JSA11065Vendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: Oct 16, 2020
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-1668?

On Juniper Networks EX2300 Series, receipt of a stream of specific multicast packets by the layer2 interface can cause high CPU load, which could lead to traffic interruption. This issue occurs when multicast packets are received by the layer 2 interface. To check if the device has high CPU load due to this issue, the administrator can issue the following command: user@host> show chassis routing-engine Routing Engine status: ... Idle 2 percent the "Idle" value shows as low (2 % in the example above), and also the following command: user@host> show system processes summary ... PID USERNAME PRI NICE SIZE RES STATE TIME WCPU COMMAND 11639 root 52 0 283M 11296K select 12:15 44.97% eventd 11803 root 81 0 719M 239M RUN 251:12 31.98% fxpc{fxpc} the eventd and the fxpc processes might use higher WCPU percentage (respectively 44.97% and 31.98% in the above example). This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on EX2300 Series: 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S11; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R2-S4, 18.3R3-S3; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S5, 18.4R3-S4; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S2; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S5, 19.2R3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S4, 19.3R3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R1-S3, 19.4R2-S1, 19.4R3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R1-S2, 20.1R2.

How severe is CVE-2020-1668?

CVE-2020-1668 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.50% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-1668?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

How Strix Helps

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