CVE-2026-21909

HIGHCVSS 7.1/10EPSS 0.24%

Last modified

CVE-2026-21909 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.1/10 on the CVSS scale. A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the routing protocol daemon (rpd) Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows an unauthenticated attacker controlling an adjacent IS-IS neighbor to send a specific update packet causing a memory leak. Continued receipt and processing of these packets will exhaust all available memory, crashing rpd and creating a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. Memory usage can be monitored through the use of the 'show task memory detail' command. For example: user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           25   1072     28   1184     229 user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           31   1360     34   1472     307 This issue affects: Junos OS:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2, 23.4R2,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2;  Junos OS Evolved:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-EVO,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2-EVO, 23.4R2-EVO,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2-EVO. This issue does not affect Junos OS versions before 23.2R1 or Junos OS Evolved versions before 23.2R1-EVO.. EPSS estimates a 0.24% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the routing protocol daemon (rpd) Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows an unauthenticated attacker controlling an adjacent IS-IS neighbor to send a specific update packet causing a memory leak. Continued receipt and processing of these packets will exhaust all available memory, crashing rpd and creating a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. Memory usage can be monitored through the use of the 'show task memory detail' command. For example: user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           25   1072     28   1184     229 user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           31   1360     34   1472     307 This issue affects: Junos OS:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2, 23.4R2,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2;  Junos OS Evolved:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-EVO,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2-EVO, 23.4R2-EVO,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2-EVO. This issue does not affect Junos OS versions before 23.2R1 or Junos OS Evolved versions before 23.2R1-EVO.

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

CVSS 4.0
7.1/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:A/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:Green

EPSS Probability
0.24%

14.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
JuniperJunos23.2
JuniperJunos23.4
JuniperJunos24.1
JuniperJunos Os Evolved23.2
JuniperJunos Os Evolved23.4
JuniperJunos Os Evolved24.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-21909?
A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the routing protocol daemon (rpd) Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows an unauthenticated attacker controlling an adjacent IS-IS neighbor to send a specific update packet causing a memory leak. Continued receipt and processing of these packets will exhaust all available memory, crashing rpd and creating a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. Memory usage can be monitored through the use of the 'show task memory detail' command. For example: user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           25   1072     28   1184     229 user@junos> show task memory detail | match ted-infra   TED-INFRA-COOKIE           31   1360     34   1472     307 This issue affects: Junos OS:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2, 23.4R2,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2;  Junos OS Evolved:  * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-EVO,  * from 23.4 before 23.4R1-S2-EVO, 23.4R2-EVO,  * from 24.1 before 24.1R2-EVO. This issue does not affect Junos OS versions before 23.2R1 or Junos OS Evolved versions before 23.2R1-EVO.
How severe is CVE-2026-21909?
CVE-2026-21909 has a CVSS score of 7.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.24% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-21909?
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-2026-21909?

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

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST