CVE-2023-28972 - CVE House
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Status published Medium CVE-2023-28972

Junos OS: NFX Series: 'set system ports console insecure' allows root password recovery

Vulnerability Description

An Improper Link Resolution Before File Access vulnerability in console port access of Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX Series allows an attacker to bypass console access controls. When "set system ports console insecure" is enabled, root login is disallowed for Junos OS as expected. However, the root password can be changed using "set system root-authentication plain-text-password" on NFX Series systems, leading to a possible administrative bypass with physical access to the console. Password recovery, changing the root password from a console, should not have been allowed from an insecure console. This is similar to the vulnerability described in CVE-2019-0035 but affects different platforms and in turn requires a different fix. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX Series: 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R3-S7; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S8; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S12; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S8; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S7; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S5; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S4; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S2; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S1; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S1, 22.2R3; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S2, 22.3R2.

Impact Analysis

Refer to official advisory for detailed impact metrics.

Remediation

Ensure systems are updated to the latest vendor-supplied patch levels.

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Credits & Attribution

The following person or organization is credited with identifying this vulnerability, as recorded in the NVD database:

  • Juniper SIRT would like to acknowledge and thank Petri Saarenmaa from Netum for responsibly reporting this vulnerability.

Affected Vendor

Juniper Networks

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Affected Software

Junos OS
Vulnerable Versions:
19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.2, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3

Timeline

Official Publish: April 17th, 2023
Last Modified: February 26th, 2025
Added to House: July 22nd, 2026

CVSS Vectors

V3: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weaknesses (CWE)