CVE-2025-21590 | Junos OS: An local attacker with shell access can execute arbitrary code

Exp

An Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization vulnerability in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a local attacker with high privileges to compromise the integrity of the device. A local attacker with access to the shell is able to inject arbitrary code which can compromise an affected device. This issue is not exploitable from the Junos CLI. This issue affects Junos OS:  * All versions before 21.2R3-S9, * 21.4 versions before 21.4R3-S10,  * 22.2 versions before 22.2R3-S6,  * 22.4 versions before 22.4R3-S6,  * 23.2 versions before 23.2R2-S3,  * 23.4 versions before 23.4R2-S4, * 24.2 versions before 24.2R1-S2, 24.2R2.

Published: 2025-03-12 Last update: 2025-10-24 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-21590 is rated Critical Active Threat (80.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.70%). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2025-03-13) affecting Juniper / Junos OS. a weakness (CWE-653) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2025-21590

Name: Juniper Junos OS Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2025-03-13

Action due: 2025-04-03

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-21590

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 2026-06-01 1.80% 1.70% -0.10%
2 2026-05-22 1.70% 1.80% +0.10%
3 2026-04-30 1.70%

Full EPSS history (30 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-21590

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.7 4.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
Attacker needs local access on the target system.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:H)
High privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:N)
No confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:H)
High integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:N)
No availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.
Exploit maturity (threat) (E:X)
Not defined: no reliable threat intelligence; scoring assumes the worst case (equivalent to Attacked).
Confidentiality requirement (CR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Integrity requirement (IR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Availability requirement (AR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Modified attack vector (MAV:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Vector (AV).
Modified attack complexity (MAC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Complexity (AC).
Modified attack requirements (MAT:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Requirements (AT).
Modified privileges required (MPR:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Privileges Required (PR).
Modified user interaction (MUI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base User Interaction (UI).
Modified vulnerable system confidentiality impact (MVC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VC metric.
Modified vulnerable system integrity impact (MVI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VI metric.
Modified vulnerable system availability impact (MVA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VA metric.
Modified subsequent system confidentiality impact (MSC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SC metric.
Modified subsequent system integrity impact (MSI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SI metric.
Modified subsequent system availability impact (MSA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SA metric.
Safety (supplemental) (S:X)
Not evaluated.
Automatable (supplemental) (AU:X)
Not evaluated.
Recovery (supplemental) (R:X)
Not evaluated.
Value density (supplemental) (V:X)
Not evaluated.
Vulnerability response effort (supplemental) (RE:X)
Not evaluated.
Provider urgency (supplemental) (U:X)
Not evaluated.
[email protected]
4.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
0.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-21590

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-21590

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
juniper junos <= 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:*:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
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 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s5:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s6:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s7:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.2:r3-s8:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s5:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s6:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s7:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s8:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 21.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r3-s9:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s5:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3-s4:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 22.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.4:r3-s5:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.2:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 23.4 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:23.4:r2-s3:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 24.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:24.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 24.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:24.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
juniper junos 24.2 cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:24.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-21590

cvelogic Threat Intelligence