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major vulnerability· requires attention

Affects widely deployed Juniper SRX firewall DNS service; DoS could disrupt enterprise networks.

Networks

CVE-2026-21920

8.7
High
EPSS 0.49%Patch availableJan 16, 2026

Unauthenticated DNS DoS on Junos SRX; crafted DNS requests crash flowd.

common questions

Is CVE-2026-21920 being exploited?

Not confirmed. CVE-2026-21920 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.49% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How severe is CVE-2026-21920?

CVE-2026-21920 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.7. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2026-21920?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-21920. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2026-21920 affect?

CVE-2026-21920 affects Juniper Junos OS on SRX Series, Versions affected: 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5, Versions affected: 24.2 before 24.2R2-S1, Versions affected: 24.4 before 24.4R2. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

What should I do about CVE-2026-21920?

Upgrade to fixed releases: 23.4R2-S5+, 24.2R2-S1+, or 24.4R2+

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

executive summary
technical analysis
affected
Juniper Junos OS on SRX SeriesVersions affected: 23.4 before 23.4R2-S5Versions affected: 24.2 before 24.2R2-S1Versions affected: 24.4 before 24.4R2
impact

Unauthenticated attacker can crash flowd via malformed DNS requests, causing DNS service DoS and restart.

action required

Patch when possible

affected versions
Juniper Networks Junos OS
  • affected>= 23.4 and < 23.4R2-S5
  • affected>= 24.2 and < 24.2R2-S1
  • affected>= 24.4 and < 24.4R2
vendor says fixed in< 23.4R1

As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.

how to fix
Remediation steps are tailored for users whose stack is affected. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
references
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