CVE-2026-21906

HIGHCVSS 8.7/10EPSS 0.50%

Last modified

CVE-2026-21906 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.7/10 on the CVSS scale. An Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker sending a specific ICMP packet through a GRE tunnel to cause the PFE to crash and restart. When PowerMode IPsec (PMI) and GRE performance acceleration are enabled and the device receives a specific ICMP packet, a crash occurs in the SRX PFE, resulting in traffic loss. PMI is enabled by default, and GRE performance acceleration can be enabled by running the configuration command shown below. PMI is a mode of operation that provides IPsec performance improvements using Vector Packet Processing. Note that PMI with GRE performance acceleration is only supported on specific SRX platforms. This issue affects Junos OS on the SRX Series: * all versions before 21.4R3-S12,  * from 22.4 before 22.4R3-S8,  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-S5,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5,  * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3,  * from 24.4 before 24.4R2-S1,  * from 25.2 before 25.2R1-S1, 25.2R2.. EPSS estimates a 0.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

An Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker sending a specific ICMP packet through a GRE tunnel to cause the PFE to crash and restart. When PowerMode IPsec (PMI) and GRE performance acceleration are enabled and the device receives a specific ICMP packet, a crash occurs in the SRX PFE, resulting in traffic loss. PMI is enabled by default, and GRE performance acceleration can be enabled by running the configuration command shown below. PMI is a mode of operation that provides IPsec performance improvements using Vector Packet Processing. Note that PMI with GRE performance acceleration is only supported on specific SRX platforms. This issue affects Junos OS on the SRX Series: * all versions before 21.4R3-S12,  * from 22.4 before 22.4R3-S8,  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-S5,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5,  * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3,  * from 24.4 before 24.4R2-S1,  * from 25.2 before 25.2R1-S1, 25.2R2.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

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

CVSS 4.0
8.7/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:A/V:C/RE:M/U:Red

EPSS Probability
0.50%

38.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
JuniperJunos< 21.4
JuniperJunos21.4
JuniperJunos22.4
JuniperJunos23.2
JuniperJunos23.4
JuniperJunos24.2
JuniperJunos24.4
JuniperJunos25.2

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-21906?
An Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker sending a specific ICMP packet through a GRE tunnel to cause the PFE to crash and restart. When PowerMode IPsec (PMI) and GRE performance acceleration are enabled and the device receives a specific ICMP packet, a crash occurs in the SRX PFE, resulting in traffic loss. PMI is enabled by default, and GRE performance acceleration can be enabled by running the configuration command shown below. PMI is a mode of operation that provides IPsec performance improvements using Vector Packet Processing. Note that PMI with GRE performance acceleration is only supported on specific SRX platforms. This issue affects Junos OS on the SRX Series: * all versions before 21.4R3-S12,  * from 22.4 before 22.4R3-S8,  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-S5,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5,  * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3,  * from 24.4 before 24.4R2-S1,  * from 25.2 before 25.2R1-S1, 25.2R2.
How severe is CVE-2026-21906?
CVE-2026-21906 has a CVSS score of 8.7/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.50% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-21906?
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.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-21906?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST