CVE-2026-21909
Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: Receipt of specific IS-IS update packet causes memory leak leading to RPD crash
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: Receipt of specific IS-IS update packet causes memory leak leading to RPD crash
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-21909- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
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/AU:Y/R:A/V:C/RE:M/U:Green - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-2696
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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-2696- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
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/AU:Y/R:A/V:C/RE:M/U:Green - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-cf3w-5gm7-wvp9
A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the routing protocol daemon...
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.
- Record
GHSA-cf3w-5gm7-wvp9- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
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 - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-21909- CVSS 4.0
- 7.1 High
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 - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-21909 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.1) in Juniper Junos, published January 15, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.25%, the 16th percentile. No source names a fixed version.