CVE-2021-31378

What it is

In broadband environments, including but not limited to Enhanced Subscriber Management, (CHAP, PPP, DHCP, etc.), on Juniper Networks Junos OS devices where RADIUS servers are configured for managing subscriber access and a subscriber is logged in and then requests to logout, the subscriber may be forced into a "Terminating" state by an attacker who is able to send spoofed messages appearing to originate from trusted RADIUS server(s) destined to the device in response to the subscriber's request. These spoofed messages cause the Junos OS General Authentication Service (authd) daemon to force the broadband subscriber into this "Terminating" state which the subscriber will not recover from thereby causing a Denial of Service (DoS) to the endpoint device. Once in the "Terminating" state, the endpoint subscriber will no longer be able to access the network. Restarting the authd daemon on the Junos OS device will temporarily clear the subscribers out of the "Terminating" state. As long as the attacker continues to send these spoofed packets and subscribers request to be logged out, the subscribers will be returned to the "Terminating" state thereby creating a persistent Denial of Service to the subscriber. An indicator of compromise may be seen by displaying the output of "show subscribers summary". The presence of subscribers in the "Terminating" state may indicate the issue is occurring. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S12; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S5; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S13; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3-S8; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S8, 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 19.4R1-S4, 19.4R1-S4, 19.4R3-S3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S1; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R2. This issue does not affect: Juniper Networks Junos OS 12.3 version 12.3R1 and later versions; 15.1 version 15.1R1 and later versions.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

1.0% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2021-10-19 19:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 03:51 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 1.0% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 6.8 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2021-10-19 19:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 03:51 UTC

Exploit probability

1.0% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-772

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Juniper Junos 17.3
• Juniper Junos 17.4
• Juniper Junos 18.1
• Juniper Junos 18.2
• Juniper Junos 18.3
• Juniper Junos 18.4
• Juniper Junos 19.1
• Juniper Junos 19.2

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.8

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

High

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

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