CVE-2024-21609

Junos OS: MX Series with SPC3, and SRX Series: If specific IPsec parameters are negotiated iked will crash due to a memory leak

Description

A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the IKE daemon (iked) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series with SPC3, and SRX Series allows an administratively adjacent attacker which is able to successfully establish IPsec tunnels to cause a Denial of Service (DoS). If specific values for the IPsec parameters local-ip, remote-ip, remote ike-id, and traffic selectors are sent from the peer, a memory leak occurs during every IPsec SA rekey which is carried out with a specific message sequence. This will eventually result in an iked process crash and restart. The iked process memory consumption can be checked using the below command:   user@host> show system processes extensive | grep iked           PID USERNAME   PRI NICE   SIZE   RES   STATE   C TIME WCPU COMMAND           56903 root       31   0     4016M 2543M CPU0   0 2:10 10.50% iked This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: * All versions earlier than 20.4R3-S9; * 21.2 versions earlier than 21.2R3-S7; * 21.3 versions earlier than 21.3R3-S5; * 21.4 versions earlier than 21.4R3-S4; * 22.1 versions earlier than 22.1R3-S3; * 22.2 versions earlier than 22.2R3-S2; * 22.3 versions earlier than 22.3R3; * 22.4 versions earlier than 22.4R3; * 23.2 versions earlier than 23.2R1-S2, 23.2R2.

Remediation

Solution:

  • The following software releases have been updated to resolve this specific issue: 20.4R3-S9, 21.2R3-S7, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S4, 22.1R3-S3, 22.2R3-S2, 22.3R3, 22.4R3, 23.2R1-S2, 23.2R2, 23.4R1, and all subsequent releases.

Workaround:

  • While there is no workaround available, customers can monitor the memory utilization and restart iked periodically to clear the leak.

Category

7.1
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 4.0 •
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.05%
Vendor Advisory juniper.net
Affected: Juniper Networks Junos OS
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-21609?
CVE-2024-21609 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-21609?
To fix CVE-2024-21609: The following software releases have been updated to resolve this specific issue: 20.4R3-S9, 21.2R3-S7, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S4, 22.1R3-S3, 22.2R3-S2, 22.3R3, 22.4R3, 23.2R1-S2, 23.2R2, 23.4R1, and all subsequent releases.
Is CVE-2024-21609 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2024-21609 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2024-21609?
CVE-2024-21609 affects Juniper Networks Junos OS.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.