CVE-2024-21587

Junos OS: MX Series: Memory leak in bbe-smgd process if BFD liveness detection for DHCP subscribers is enabled

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: January 12, 2024 at 12:51 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 07:09 AM UTC
20 products affected across 2 vendorsJunosMx960Mx480

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

An Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the broadband edge subscriber management daemon (bbe-smgd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series allows an attacker directly connected to the vulnerable system who repeatedly flaps DHCP subscriber sessions to cause a slow memory leak, ultimately leading to a Denial of Service (DoS). Memory can only be recovered by manually restarting bbe-smgd. This issue only occurs if BFD liveness detection for DHCP subscribers is enabled. Systems without BFD liveness detection enabled are not vulnerable to this issue. Indication of the issue can be observed by periodically executing the 'show system processes extensive' command, which will indicate an increase in memory allocation for bbe-smgd. A small amount of memory is leaked every time a DHCP subscriber logs in, which will become visible over time, ultimately leading to memory starvation. user@junos> show system processes extensive | match bbe-smgd 13071 root 24 0 415M 201M select 0 0:41 7.28% bbe-smgd{bbe-smgd} 13071 root 20 0 415M 201M select 1 0:04 0.00% bbe-smgd{bbe-smgd} ... user@junos> show system processes extensive | match bbe-smgd 13071 root 20 0 420M 208M select 0 4:33 0.10% bbe-smgd{bbe-smgd} 13071 root 20 0 420M 208M select 0 0:12 0.00% bbe-smgd{bbe-smgd} ... This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series: * All versions earlier than 20.4R3-S9; * 21.2 versions earlier than 21.2R3-S7; * 21.3 versions earlier than 21.3R3-S5; * 21.4 versions earlier than 21.4R3-S5; * 22.1 versions earlier than 22.1R3-S4; * 22.2 versions earlier than 22.2R3-S3; * 22.3 versions earlier than 22.3R3-S2; * 22.4 versions earlier than 22.4R2-S2, 22.4R3; * 23.2 versions earlier than 23.2R1-S1, 23.2R2.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

Affected range stops below 20.4R3-S9, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 21.2R3-S7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 21.3R3-S5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 21.4R3-S5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 22.1R3-S4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 22.2R3-S3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 22.3R3-S2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 22.4R2-S2, 22.4R3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 23.2R1-S1, 23.2R2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
juniper-mx10 (environment) · juniper-mx10000 (environment) · juniper-mx10003 (environment) · juniper-mx10004 (environment) · juniper-mx10008 (environment) · juniper-mx10016 (environment) · juniper-mx104 (environment) · juniper-mx150 (environment) · juniper-mx2008 (environment) · juniper-mx2010 (environment) · juniper-mx2020 (environment) · juniper-mx204 (environment) · juniper-mx240 (environment) · juniper-mx304 (environment) · juniper-mx40 (environment) · juniper-mx480 (environment) · juniper-mx5 (environment) · juniper-mx80 (environment) · juniper-mx960 (environment)
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions
All versions

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

Patch and advisory references

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

6.5MEDIUMjuniper
Attack Vector
ADJACENT_NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-755

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