Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach SCTP-listening MX router
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ExploitSend crafted SCTP packets
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ExecutionTrigger infinite loop in netsctp.ko
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ImpactKernel path hangs, DoS
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Loop termination conditions
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the target to be a Juniper MX-Series device running an affected Junos OS release (e.g. before 23.4R2-S8.13, 25.4R1-S3, 23.2R2-S7.7, 25.2R2-S2, 24.4R2-S5, 26.2R1-S2, or 24.2R2-S5.5) and actively processing SCTP traffic through the netsctp.ko module - SCTP is primarily used in telecom/mobile signaling deployments, so devices not handling SCTP are not exposed. No authentication, privileges, or user interaction are needed (PR:N/UI:N), and the attacker only needs network-level reachability to the SCTP processing path. The practical limiting factor is the SCTP precondition and network exposure of that path, not any credential or configuration gating. |
| Impact | This is a genuinely actionable network-availability issue, not merely a high-CVSS paper risk. The vendor-supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) describes remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated exploitation requiring no user interaction, with VA:H confirming high availability impact on the vulnerable device and SA:L indicating a minor knock-on availability effect on downstream systems - consistent with a core MX-Series router locking up and disrupting traffic it forwards. The CWE-835 infinite-loop mechanism aligns with the pure-DoS, no-confidentiality/no-integrity impact (VC:N/VI:N). No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC were provided in the input, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis'; the absence of these signals is not evidence of safety but does argue against imminent commodity exploitation. Note the vendor's vector carries V:C (concentrated value) and AU:Y (automatable), which the advisory treats as reasons the metric is weighted toward 8.7 despite the DoS-only impact. The main caveat is exploitability depends on the device actually processing SCTP traffic (see exploitation_conditions) - a real-world precondition the CVSS AV:N score does not capture - so defenders on MX platforms that do not handle SCTP face materially lower risk. Verify SCTP usage and patch state against JSA112196. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated attacker with network reachability to an SCTP-processing MX-Series router sends crafted SCTP packets that drive the netsctp.ko kernel module into an unterminated loop, hanging the affected processing path and denying service. No exploit code is publicly identified, but the low attack complexity and lack of authentication or user interaction make reliable triggering plausible once the packet structure is understood. Impact is limited to denial of service, with a minor availability effect on traffic the router carries. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Crafted SCTP network traffic can drive the netsctp.ko kernel module on Juniper MX Series routers running affected Junos OS releases into an infinite loop, stalling the SCTP processing path and producing a denial of service against the device. Exploitation is unauthenticated and requires no user interaction (PR:N/UI:N per the assessed vector) - the attacker only needs network reachability to a device that is actually processing SCTP traffic, which in practice means MX platforms used in telecom/mobile signaling roles; routers that do not handle SCTP are not exposed. The vendor has published an advisory and fixed releases, and no public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis (this CVE is not associated with CISA KEV), so the primary risk driver is the size of the exposed, SCTP-handling MX population rather than demonstrated in-the-wild abuse.
RemediationAI
Vendor patches are available: per the Juniper advisory JSA112196, upgrade each affected branch to its first fixed release - 23.2R2-S7.7, 23.4R2-S8.13, 24.2R2-S5.5, 24.4R2-S5, 25.2R2-S2, 25.4R1-S3, or 26.2R1-S2 (or later maintenance releases on that branch), and validate the version against the advisory before considering the device remediated; Junos upgrades typically require a maintenance window and may involve RE switchover, and on MX platforms an in-service software upgrade can reduce but not eliminate that disruption. Where a maintenance window is not immediately available, the highest-value compensating control is to stop untrusted SCTP from reaching the netsctp processing path: apply ingress and transit filters for IP protocol 132 at the network perimeter and on external/inter-AS interfaces so only known signaling peers (for example trusted STPs or roaming partners) can send SCTP to the device - the trade-off is that any legitimate SCTP peer omitted from the filter list loses connectivity and signaling may fail during the change, so filters should be built from the existing peer inventory. If SCTP is not used at all on a given MX platform - common for pure IP/MPLS transport or subscriber-edge roles - disabling or removing SCTP handling from that device eliminates the exposure entirely at no functional cost, whereas doing so on a signaling-bearing router will break M3UA/SS7-over-IP or Diameter signaling. As a detection backstop, monitor logs and telemetry for netsctp.ko faults, SCTP task stalls, or abnormal CPU consumption by the SCTP processing thread, and alert on repeated SCTP session drops, since an infinite loop in the module can otherwise present first as unexplained degradation. Consult the vendor portal at https://supportportal.juniper.net/JSA112196 for the authoritative fixed-version matrix and any vendor-supplied workarounds.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause is CWE-835, a loop with an unreachable exit condition, inside netsctp.ko - the Junos OS kernel module that implements the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). SCTP is a transport-layer protocol carried directly over IP (protocol number 132) and is used mainly in carrier environments for signaling transports such as M3UA/SUA, SS7-over-IP, Diameter over SCTP, and RAN signaling; this is why the exposure is concentrated on MX Series routers deployed in telecom and mobile core/signaling roles rather than on general-purpose edge routing. A malformed or unexpected SCTP packet sequence reaches a code path where the module's control loop can never satisfy its exit condition, so the processing thread spins indefinitely instead of returning, degrading or halting SCTP handling on the affected device. The impact is availability-only: the assessed CVSS 3.1 vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H shows confidentiality and integrity are unaffected while availability is high, and the vendor's CVSS 4.0 score of 8.7 is consistent with that unauthenticated network-driven availability profile. The CPE entry (cpe:2.3:a:juniper_networks:junos_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) confirms the generic Junos OS product stream rather than a single point release.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/AU:Y/R:A/V:C/RE:M
Remote unauthenticated crafted SCTP traffic with no interaction (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); pure DoS gives A:H with C:N/I:N and unchanged scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (juniper).
CVSS VectorVendor: juniper
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
A Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') vulnerability in netsctp.ko of Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series allows an unauthenticated network attacker to cause a denial of service via crafted SCTP network traffic.
Executive ViewAI
Juniper MX Series routers running affected Junos OS releases can be driven into a denial-of-service condition by crafted SCTP traffic, and the attack requires no authentication or user interaction - only network reachability to a device that is actually processing SCTP. Exposure is therefore concentrated in telecom and mobile signaling environments where MX platforms carry SCTP traffic; MX routers that do not handle SCTP are not affected. Leadership should care because a successful attack stalls the signaling path on high-value edge routers, disrupting service delivery for downstream subscribers and network partners, while no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and a vendor fix is available.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
OS command injection in the phcd phone-home daemon of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved lets an adjacent, u
Unauthenticated remote code execution with root privileges affects Juniper Networks Junos OS devices that expose the J-W
Heap-based buffer overflow in the sdxd service-deployment daemon of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allow
A stack-based buffer overflow in the srxpfe packet forwarding process of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series devices
Unauthenticated remote code execution with elevated privileges is possible in Juniper Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved thro
Remote root code execution in the routing protocol daemon (rpd) of Juniper Junos OS is reachable through protocol-valid
Remote code execution (on Junos OS) and rpd denial of service (on Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved) result from a stack-bas
Remote code execution with root privileges on Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved is possible when the routin
Remote code execution and denial of service in Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved arise from a stack-based b
Unauthenticated remote attackers can gain root-level configuration access and fully compromise Juniper Junos OS and Juno
Integer underflow in the Junos OS kernel can crash a device when the Extended Echo feature (RFC 8335 ICMP probing) is co
Heap-based buffer overflow in Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX Series devices that have Secure Vector Routing (SVR) enab
EUVD-2026-101370
GHSA-v778-q7j4-mw77
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB