7.1
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-21909
Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: Receipt of specific IS-IS update packet causes memory leak leading to RPD crash
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.

INFO

Published Date :

Jan. 15, 2026, 9:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

Jan. 15, 2026, 9:16 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-21909 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM 8cbe9d5a-a066-4c94-8978-4b15efeae968
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 8cbe9d5a-a066-4c94-8978-4b15efeae968
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved to fix a memory leak vulnerability.
  • Update Junos OS to version 23.2R2 or later.
  • Update Junos OS to version 23.4R1-S2, 23.4R2 or later.
  • Update Junos OS to version 24.1R2 or later.
  • Update Junos OS Evolved accordingly.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-21909.

URL Resource
https://kb.juniper.net/JSA106008
https://supportportal.juniper.net/JSA106008
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-21909 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-21909 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-21909 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-21909 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jan. 15, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added 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.
    Added CVSS V4.0 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
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-401
    Added Reference https://kb.juniper.net/JSA106008
    Added Reference https://supportportal.juniper.net/JSA106008
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 7.1
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Attack Requirements
Privileges Required
User Interaction
VS Confidentiality
VS Integrity
VS Availability
SS Confidentiality
SS Integrity
SS Availability
Base CVSS Score: 6.5
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact