CVE-2023-44194: Junos OS: An unauthenticated attacker with local access to the device can create a backdoor with root privileges

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-10-13 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-276

Description

An Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated attacker with local access to the device to create a backdoor with root privileges. The issue is caused by improper directory permissions on a certain system directory, allowing an attacker with access to this directory to create a backdoor with root privileges. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS: * All versions prior to 20.4R3-S5; * 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S4; * 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S4; * 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; * 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S1.

Affected products

Juniper Junos OS: before 20.4; 20.4, 20.4-r1, 20.4-r1-s1, 20.4-r2, 20.4-r2-s1, 20.4-r2-s2 (+43) — fixed in 20.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Juniper Junos OS 20.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2023-44194 or the next vulnerability affects your stack