Vulnerability · Published Jan 15, 2026 · Assigned by juniper

CVE-2026-21908Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved: Use after free vulnerability In 802.1X authentication daemon can cause crash of the dot1xd process

High 7.1

In plain English

A high-severity use-after-free in Junos OS from Juniper Networks. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 24% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.1High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 76.0% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

A Use After Free vulnerability was identified in the 802.1X authentication daemon (dot1xd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved that could allow an authenticated, network-adjacent attacker flapping a port to crash the dot1xd process, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS), or potentially execute arbitrary code within the context of the process running as root. The issue is specific to the processing of a change in authorization (CoA) when a port bounce occurs. A pointer is freed but was then referenced later in the same code path. Successful exploitation is outside the attacker's direct control due to the specific timing of the two events required to execute the vulnerable code path. This issue affects systems with 802.1X authentication port-based network access control (PNAC) enabled. This issue affects: Junos OS:  * from 23.2R2-S1 before 23.2R2-S5,  * from 23.4R2 before 23.4R2-S6,  * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3,  * from 24.4 before 24.4R2-S1,  * from 25.2 before 25.2R1-S2, 25.2R2;  Junos OS Evolved:  * from 23.2R2-S1 before 23.2R2-S5-EVO,  * from 23.4R2 before 23.4R2-S6-EVO,  * from 24.2 before 24.2R2-S3-EVO,  * from 24.4 before 24.4R2-S1-EVO,  * from 25.2 before 25.2R1-S2-EVO, 25.2R2-EVO.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Juniper Networks Junos OS 23.2R2-S1 – before 23.2R2-S523.4R2 – before 23.4R2-S624.2 – before 24.2R2-S324.4 – before 24.4R2-S125.2 – before 25.2R1-S2, 25.2R2
Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved 23.2R2-S1 – before 23.2R2-S5-EVO23.4R2 – before 23.4R2-S6-EVO24.2 – before 24.2R2-S3-EVO24.4 – before 24.4R2-S1-EVO25.2 – before 25.2R1-S2-EVO, 25.2R2-EVO

Weakness: CWE-416 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References