Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/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:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-21903 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Juniper Junos. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 29th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-2692
Vulnerability Data
A Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in the Packet Forwarding Engine (pfe) of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a network-based attacker, authenticated with low privileges to cause a Denial-of-Service (DoS). Subscribing to telemetry sensors at scale causes all FPC connections to…
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drop, resulting in an FPC crash and restart. The issue was not seen when YANG packages for the specific sensors were installed. This issue affects Junos OS: * all versions before 22.4R3-S7, * 23.2 version before 23.2R2-S4, * 23.4 versions before 23.4R2.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Stack buffer overflow triggered via authenticated telemetry subscription directly enables application-layer DoS via crafted input (T1499.004).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces validation of telemetry sensor subscription requests to block the oversized input that triggers the stack buffer overflow in the PFE.
Requires timely patching of Junos OS to versions that contain the fix for CVE-2026-21903, eliminating the underlying buffer-overflow flaw.
Boundary-protection rules can restrict which authenticated endpoints are permitted to establish large numbers of telemetry subscriptions, reducing exposure of the vulnerable PFE path.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.
Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.
Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.
Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.
Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.
Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.