Junos OS: Improper Handling of Additional Special Element
CVE-2025-30656 is a high-severity improper handling of additional special element vulnerability in Junos OS from Juniper Networks, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 21.2R3-S9, 21.4R3-S10, 22.2R3-S6 as the first without the flaw, so updating Junos OS to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.43% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Junos OS to 21.2R3-S9 or 21.4R3-S10 or 22.2R3-S6 or 22.4R3-S5, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Junos to 21.2 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on supportportal.juniper.net for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juniper Networks | Junos OS | before 21.2R3-S9; 21.4 up to, but not including, 21.4R3-S10; 22.2 up to, but not including, 22.2R3-S6; 22.4 up to, but not including, 22.4R3-S5; 23.2 up to, but not including, 23.2R2-S3; 23.4 up to, but not including, 23.4R2-S3; 24.2 up to, but not including, 24.2R1-S2, 24.2R2 | 21.2R3-S9, 21.4R3-S10, 22.2R3-S6, 22.4R3-S5, 23.2R2-S3, 23.4R2-S3 |
| Juniper Networks | Junos | before 21.2; 21.2; 21.4; 22.2; 22.4; 23.2; 23.4; 24.2 | 21.2 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (juniper.net).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 8.7 | High | CNA (juniper.net) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | CNA (juniper.net) |
Official description
An Improper Handling of Additional Special Element vulnerability in the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series with MS-MPC, MS-MIC and SPC3, and SRX Series, allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to cause a Denial-of-Service (DoS). If the SIP ALG processes specifically formatted SIP invites, a memory corruption will occur which will lead to a crash of the FPC processing these packets. Although the system will automatically recover with the restart of the FPC, subsequent SIP invites will cause the crash again and lead to a sustained DoS. This issue affects Junos OS on MX Series and SRX Series: * all versions before 21.2R3-S9, * 21.4 versions before 21.4R3-S10, * 22.2 versions before 22.2R3-S6, * 22.4 versions before 22.4R3-S5, * 23.2 versions before 23.2R2-S3, * 23.4 versions before 23.4R2-S3, * 24.2 versions before 24.2R1-S2, 24.2R2.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Handling of Additional Special Element
The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an additional unexpected special element is provided.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Developers should anticipate that extra special elements will be injected in the input vectors of their product. Use an appropriate combination of denylists and allowlists to ensure only valid, expected and appropriate input is processed by the system.
- While it is risky to use dynamically-generated query strings, code, or commands that mix control and data together, sometimes it may be unavoidable. Properly quote arguments and escape any special characters within those arguments. The most conservative approach is to escape or filter all characters that do not pass an extremely strict allowlist (such as everything that is not alphanumeric or white space). If some special characters are still needed, such as white space, wrap each argument in quotes after the escaping/filtering step. Be careful of argument injection (CWE-88).
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
More Improper Handling of Additional Special Element vulnerabilities (CWE-167)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Other vulnerabilities in Junos OS
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Improper Handling of Additional Special Element vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
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