An improper privilege management vulnerability in the Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved command-line interpreter (CLI) allows a low-privileged user to overwrite local files as root, possibly leading to a system integrity issue or Denial of Service (DoS). Depending on the files overwritten, exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition, requiring manual user intervention to recover. Systems are only vulnerable if jdhcpd is running, which can be confirmed via the 'show system processes' command. For example: root@host# run show system processes extensive | match dhcp 26537 root -16 0 97568K 13692K RUN 0 0:01 3.71% jdhcpd This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS: All versions, including the following supported releases: 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S10; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R3-S9; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S6; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S7, 19.2R3-S3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S6, 19.3R3-S3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S6; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2-S2, 20.1R3-S1; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S2; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R2-S1, 20.4R3; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R1-S1, 21.1R2. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: All versions prior to 20.4R2-S3-EVO; All versions of 21.1-EVO.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7 | 15.1-r7.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f1 | 15.1-f1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s4 | 15.1-f6-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f2-s3 | 15.1-f2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f7 | 15.1-f7.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r3 | 15.1-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r | 15.1-r.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f2-s2 | 15.1-f2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6 | 15.1-r6.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f4 | 15.1-f4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r4 | 15.1-r4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f2-s4 | 15.1-f2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f5-s7 | 15.1-f5-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s7 | 15.1-f6-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6 | 15.1-f6.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f2 | 15.1-f2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-a1 | 15.1-a1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f3 | 15.1-f3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r2 | 15.1-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r4-s7 | 15.1-r4-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r4-s8 | 15.1-r4-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r5-s5 | 15.1-r5-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6-s1 | 15.1-r6-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r5 | 15.1-r5.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r1 | 15.1-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f2-s1 | 15.1-f2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r5-s1 | 15.1-r5-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f5 | 15.1-f5.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s8 | 15.1-f6-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r5-s3 | 15.1-r5-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r5-s6 | 15.1-r5-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6-s2 | 15.1-r6-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6-s3 | 15.1-r6-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6-s4 | 15.1-r6-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s9 | 15.1-f6-s9.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r4-s9 | 15.1-r4-s9.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r6-s6 | 15.1-r6-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1 | 17.4-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2 | 17.4-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f | 15.1-f.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s3 | 15.1-f6-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s1 | 15.1-r7-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s10 | 15.1-f6-s10.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s3 | 17.4-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s2 | 15.1-r7-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s3 | 15.1-r7-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s2 | 17.4-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s1 | 17.4-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s1 | 18.3-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s2 | 17.4-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r2 | 18.3-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1 | 18.3-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r3 | 17.4-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s1 | 17.4-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s2 | 15.1-f6-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s1 | 15.1-f6-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s5 | 15.1-f6-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s6 | 15.1-f6-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1 | 18.4-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4 | 17.4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1 | 15.1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s2 | 18.3-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3 | 18.3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4 | 18.4.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s5 | 17.4-r1-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s7 | 17.4-r1-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s4 | 17.4-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s1 | 18.4-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s3 | 17.4-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s4 | 17.4-r2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r1-s6 | 17.4-r1-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s3 | 18.3-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s4 | 18.3-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s3 | 18.4-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s4 | 18.4-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s2 | 18.4-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1 | 19.1-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1 | 19.1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s5 | 17.4-r2-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s6 | 17.4-r2-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s7 | 17.4-r2-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1 | 19.2-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2 | 18.4-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s1 | 19.1-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s3 | 19.1-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s2 | 19.1-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s4 | 15.1-r7-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s5 | 15.1-r7-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s5 | 18.4-r1-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-f6-s12 | 15.1-f6-s12.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s1 | 19.2-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s2 | 19.2-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s5 | 18.3-r1-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r2-s1 | 18.3-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r2-s2 | 18.3-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s8 | 17.4-r2-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s1 | 18.4-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3 | 19.3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r1 | 19.3-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2 | 19.2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s2 | 18.4-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r1-s6 | 18.3-r1-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s3 | 19.2-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r3 | 18.3-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r1 | 19.4-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2 | 19.3-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r2 | 19.1-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3 | 18.4-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s3 | 18.4-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r3-s1 | 18.3-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2-s1 | 19.3-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r1-s1 | 19.3-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s4 | 19.2-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r1 | 20.1-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r1-s1 | 19.4-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2-s2 | 19.3-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s4 | 19.1-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s6 | 18.4-r1-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r2-s3 | 18.3-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r3-s1 | 17.4-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s9 | 17.4-r2-s9.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s10 | 17.4-r2-s10.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s7 | 15.1-r7-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s2 | 18.4-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s1 | 18.4-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s4 | 18.4-r2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r2-s1 | 19.1-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3 | 19.1-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3-s1 | 19.1-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s6 | 15.1-r7-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r1-s2 | 19.4-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r1-s1 | 20.1-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r3-s2 | 17.4-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r3-s3 | 17.4-r3-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r1 | 20.2-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r1-s2 | 20.1-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r1-s3 | 20.1-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r2 | 19.4-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r2-s1 | 19.4-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2-s3 | 19.3-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3-s2 | 19.1-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s3 | 18.4-r3-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s4 | 18.4-r3-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r3-s2 | 18.3-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r2 | 19.2-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s11 | 17.4-r2-s11.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r2-s4 | 18.3-r2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2-s4 | 19.3-r2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r3-s3 | 18.3-r3-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r1-s1 | 20.2-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r1-s2 | 20.2-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r2-s2 | 19.4-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r3 | 19.2-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s5 | 18.4-r3-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3 | 19.4-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r2-s5 | 19.3-r2-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r3 | 19.3-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s5 | 19.2-r1-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3-s3 | 19.1-r3-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s5 | 18.4-r2-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s6 | 18.4-r2-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s8 | 15.1-r7-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s5 | 19.1-r1-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r1-s7 | 18.4-r1-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.3-r1 | 20.3-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r2-s1 | 19.2-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r1-s4 | 20.1-r1-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3-s4 | 19.1-r3-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s6 | 18.4-r3-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.3-r3-s4 | 18.3-r3-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.3-r1-s1 | 20.3-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r1-s3 | 20.2-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r3-s1 | 19.2-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s7 | 18.4-r3-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r2-s12 | 17.4-r2-s12.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3-s1 | 19.4-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r2-s3 | 19.4-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r2 | 20.2-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r2-s1 | 20.2-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 17.4-r3-s4 | 17.4-r3-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r1-s3 | 19.4-r1-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r1-s6 | 19.2-r1-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r2-s2 | 19.1-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.4-r1 | 20.4-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r2-s2 | 20.2-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r2 | 20.1-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r2-s1 | 20.1-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r1 | 20.4-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.4-r1-s1 | 20.4-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r1-s6 | 19.1-r1-s6.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r2-s3 | 20.2-r2-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.3-r2 | 20.3-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r3-s1 | 19.3-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s7 | 18.4-r2-s7.x |
| juniper / junos | 21.1-r1 | 21.1-r1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.4-r2 | 20.4-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.3-r2-s1 | 20.3-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r3 | 20.2-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.2-r3-s1 | 20.2-r3-s1.x |
| juniper / junos | 20.1-r3 | 20.1-r3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3-s2 | 19.4-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3-s3 | 19.4-r3-s3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3-s4 | 19.4-r3-s4.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.3-r3-s2 | 19.3-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.2-r3-s2 | 19.2-r3-s2.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r2-s8 | 18.4-r2-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.1-r3-s5 | 19.1-r3-s5.x |
| juniper / junos | 18.4-r3-s8 | 18.4-r3-s8.x |
| juniper / junos | 15.1-r7-s9 | 15.1-r7-s9.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 21.1-r1 | 21.1-r1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 21.1-r2 | 21.1-r2.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r2-s4 | 19.4-r2-s4.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 21.1-r1-s1 | 21.1-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 21.1 | 21.1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r1-s1 | 20.4-r1-s1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r1-s2 | 20.4-r1-s2.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r2 | 20.4-r2.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r2-s1 | 20.4-r2-s1.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | 20.4-r2-s2 | 20.4-r2-s2.x |
| juniper / junos_os_evolved | - | 20.3.x |
| juniper / junos | 19.4-r3-s5 | 19.4-r3-s5.x |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.