CVE-2026-21909

CVE-2026-21909 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Juniper Junos with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-401.

Key facts

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-21909?
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.
How severe is CVE-2026-21909?
CVE-2026-21909 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over an adjacent network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-21909 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (14th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-21909?
CVE-2026-21909 primarily affects Juniper Junos. In total, 20 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-21909?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-21909 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-21909 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-2696.
When was CVE-2026-21909 published?
CVE-2026-21909 was published on 2026-01-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (20)

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