Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-21910

Juniper Junos ≤ 21.4

Published
15 January 2026
Modified
25 February 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS: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:U/V:X/RE:M/U:Green
EPSS Score 0.0025 16th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-21910 is a high-severity Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (CWE-754) 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 16th 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-2 (Flaw Remediation) and CM-6 (Configuration Settings) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on EX4k Series and QFX5k Series platforms allows an unauthenticated network-adjacent attacker flapping an interface to cause traffic between VXLAN…

more

Network Identifiers (VNIs) to drop, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS). On all EX4k and QFX5k platforms, a link flap in an EVPN-VXLAN configuration Link Aggregation Group (LAG) results in Inter-VNI traffic dropping when there are multiple load-balanced next-hop routes for the same destination. This issue is only applicable to systems that support EVPN-VXLAN Virtual Port-Link Aggregation Groups (VPLAG), such as the QFX5110, QFX5120, QFX5200, EX4100, EX4300, EX4400, and EX4650. Service can only be restored by restarting the affected FPC via the 'request chassis fpc restart slot <slot-number>' command. This issue affects Junos OS on EX4k and QFX5k Series: * all versions before 21.4R3-S12, * all versions of 22.2 * from 22.4 before 22.4R3-S8, * from 23.2 before 23.2R2-S5, * from 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5, * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3, * from 24.4 before 24.4R2.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
Why these techniques?

Vulnerability directly enables DoS via crafted exceptional condition (interface flap) in PFE, matching Application or System Exploitation.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-33781Same product: Juniper Ex4000
CVE-2025-60004Same product: Juniper Junos
CVE-2025-60011Same product: Juniper Junos
CVE-2024-21614Same product: Juniper Junos
CVE-2026-33790Same product: Juniper Junos
CVE-2026-57025Same product: Juniper Ex4000
CVE-2026-57029Same product: Juniper Qfx5110
CVE-2024-30388Same product: Juniper Ex4100
CVE-2024-21603Same product: Juniper Junos
CVE-2026-57022Same product: Juniper Junos

Affected Assets

juniper
junos
21.4, 22.2, 22.4, 23.2, 23.4 · ≤ 21.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • CM-6 Configuration Settings
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-4 System Monitoring
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly addresses the listed vulnerable Junos releases by requiring installation of the fixed versions that correct the PFE handling of link-flap exceptions in VPLAG/EVPN-VXLAN.

prevent

Enforces secure baseline settings that can disable or constrain EVPN-VXLAN VPLAG with multiple load-balanced next hops, eliminating the exact configuration that triggers the traffic black-hole on flap.

detect

Enables continuous monitoring of interface state changes and inter-VNI forwarding drops, providing timely detection of the anomalous PFE behavior described in the CVE.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly require proper checks and handling for exceptional conditions throughout the SDLC.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and environments can detect adverse events triggered by unhandled exceptional conditions.

PR.PS-04 partial match
prevents

Generating logs of exceptions and errors enables detection of improper handling of unusual conditions.

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.

detects

Security testing in development and acceptance verifies handling of error and exceptional conditions.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
detects

Logging can record unhandled exceptions but does not prevent the weakness itself.

detects

Monitoring may detect symptoms of unhandled conditions but does not eliminate the root weakness.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates exception handling and input validation that directly prevent missing checks for unusual conditions.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for handling of exceptional conditions and error paths.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require robust error and exception handling mechanisms.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that reduce the attack surface for weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Derived transitively via CVE→CWE→STIG over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248573 The OL 8 file integrity tool must notify the system administrator (SA) when changes to the baseline configuration or anomalies in the operation of any security functions are discovered within an organizationally defined frequency. via CWE-754
  • V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. via CWE-754
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. via CWE-754

References