CVE-2023-22413: Junos OS: MX Series: The Multiservices PIC Management Daemon (mspmand) will crash when an IPsec6 tunnel processes specific IPv4 packets

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-01-13 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-703

Description

An Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the IPsec library of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a network-based, unauthenticated attacker to cause Denial of Service (DoS). On all MX platforms with MS-MPC or MS-MIC card, when specific IPv4 packets are processed by an IPsec6 tunnel, the Multiservices PIC Management Daemon (mspmand) process will core and restart. This will lead to FPC crash. Traffic flow is impacted while mspmand restarts. Continued receipt of these specific packets will cause a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue only occurs if an IPv4 address is not configured on the multiservice interface. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series All versions prior to 19.4R3-S9; 20.1 version 20.1R3-S5 and later versions; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S5; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S5; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S4; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S3; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S1; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R2-S1, 21.4R3; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2.

Affected products

Juniper Junos OS: before 19.4; 19.4, 19.4-r1, 19.4-r1-s1, 19.4-r1-s2, 19.4-r1-s3, 19.4-r1-s4 (+85) — fixed in 19.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Juniper Junos OS 19.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2023-22413 or the next vulnerability affects your stack