CVE-2023-22405 | Junos OS: QFX5k Series, EX46xx Series: MAC limiting feature stops working after PFE restart or device reboot

An Improper Preservation of Consistency Between Independent Representations of Shared State vulnerability in the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) to device due to out of resources. When a device is configured with "service-provider/SP style" switching, and mac-limiting is configured on an Aggregated Ethernet (ae) interface, and then a PFE is restarted or the device is rebooted, mac-limiting doesn't work anymore. Please note that the issue might not be apparent as traffic will continue to flow through the device although the mac table and respective logs will indicate that mac limit is reached. Functionality can be restored by removing and re-adding the MAC limit configuration. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX5k Series, EX46xx Series: All 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 on; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3 on; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2 on.

Published: 2023-01-13 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-22405 is rated Low Risk (36.9/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-22405

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-25 0.28% 0.12% -0.16%
2 2026-01-18 0.16% 0.28% +0.12%
3 2025-11-21 0.16%

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-22405

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-22405

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-22405

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
juniper junos < 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r1-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r2-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.2:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.3:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 20.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:20.4:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.1:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.3 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.3:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.1:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.1 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.1:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-22405

URL Tags
https://kb.juniper.net/JSA70201 Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence