EchelonGraph verdictMonitorRemediate within your standard update timelines (the SSVC decision on this page).
- •Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.2%CVSS: 6.8Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed
The following software releases have been updated to resolve this specific issue: 21.4R3, 22.2R3-S3, 22.3R1, and all subsequent releases (from the CVE record's solution, Juniper Networks, Inc.) — apply it.
An Origin Validation Error vulnerability in an insufficient protected file of Juniper Networks Junos OS on EX4600 Series and QFX5000 Series allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the device to create a backdoor which allows complete control of the system.
When a device isn't configured with a root password, an attacker can modify a specific file. It's contents will be added to the Junos configuration of the device without being visible. This allows for the addition of any configuration unknown
to the actual operator, which includes users, IP addresses and other configuration which could allow unauthorized access to the device.
This exploit is persistent across reboots and even zeroization.
The indicator of compromise is a modified /etc/config/-defaults[-flex].conf file. Review that file for unexpected configuration statements, or compare it to an unmodified version which can be extracted from the original Juniper software image file. For details on the extraction procedure please contact Juniper Technical Assistance Center (JTAC).
To restore the device to a trusted initial configuration the system needs to be reinstalled from physical media.
This issue affects Junos OS on EX4600 Series and QFX5000 Series:
* All versions before 21.4R3,
* 22.2 versions before 22.2R3-S3.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (6.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 6.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 6.8 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-24). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
The following software releases have been updated to resolve this specific issue: 21.4R3, 22.2R3-S3, 22.3R1, and all subsequent releases (from the CVE record's solution, Juniper Networks, Inc.). Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it