CVE-2026-33781
Juniper Junos 24.4 … 25.2
Raw vector
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:X/V:X/RE:M/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-33781 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 6th 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 SC-7 (Boundary Protection) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-21199
Vulnerability Data
An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (pfe) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on specific EX and QFX Series devices allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a complete Denial of Service (DoS).…
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On EX4k, and QFX5k platforms configured as service-provider edge devices, if L2PT is enabled on the UNI and VSTP is enabled on NNI in VXLAN scenarios, receiving VSTP BPDUs on UNI leads to packet buffer allocation failures, resulting in the device to not pass traffic anymore until it is manually recovered with a restart.This issue affects Junos OS: * 24.4 releases before 24.4R2, * 25.2 releases before 25.2R1-S1, 25.2R2. This issue does not affect Junos OS releases before 24.4R1.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The CVE describes a remote, unauthenticated DoS triggered by sending crafted VSTP BPDUs that exploit an improper exceptional condition check in the PFE, directly matching application/system exploitation for endpoint DoS.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly mitigates CWE-754 by enforcing validation of exceptional packet conditions (VSTP BPDUs on UNI) before PFE buffer allocation.
Boundary protection can filter or drop VSTP BPDUs at the UNI/NNI demarcation to block the attack vector before it reaches the forwarding engine.
Provides mechanisms to rate-limit or police control-plane and L2 protocol traffic that would otherwise exhaust packet buffers under this specific VXLAN + L2PT/VSTP configuration.
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 require proper checks and handling for exceptional conditions throughout the SDLC.
Runtime monitoring of software and environments can detect adverse events triggered by unhandled exceptional conditions.
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.
Security testing in development and acceptance verifies handling of error and exceptional conditions.
Logging can record unhandled exceptions but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Monitoring may detect symptoms of unhandled conditions but does not eliminate the root weakness.
Secure development life cycle mandates exception handling and input validation that directly prevent missing checks for unusual conditions.
Application security requirements explicitly call for handling of exceptional conditions and error paths.
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