CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-0254 — Juniper Junos security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

A buffer size validation vulnerability in the overlayd service of Juniper Networks Junos OS may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to send specially crafted packets to the device, triggering a partial Denial of Service (DoS) condition, or leading to remote code execution (RCE). Continued receipt and processing of these packets will sustain the partial DoS. The overlayd daemon handles Overlay OAM packets, such as ping and traceroute, sent to the overlay. The service runs as root by default and listens for UDP connections on port 4789. This issue results from improper buffer size validation, which can lead to a buffer overflow. Unauthenticated attackers can send specially crafted packets to trigger this vulnerability, resulting in possible remote code execution. overlayd runs by default in MX Series, ACX Series, and QFX Series platforms. The SRX Series does not support VXLAN and is therefore not vulnerable to this issue. Other platforms are also vulnerable if a Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) overlay network is configured. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S9; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S11; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R2-S13, 17.4R3…

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2021-04-22
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-131, CWE-787

Affected products

  • juniper / junos / 15.1

Showing 1 representative product identities from 235 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.