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/<platform>-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.
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

The following software releases have been updated to resolve this specific issue: 21.4R3, 22.2R3-S3, 22.3R1, and all subsequent releases.


Workaround

There are no known workarounds for this issue.

History

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Juniper ex4600
Juniper ex4650
Juniper junos
Juniper qfx5110
Juniper qfx5120
Juniper qfx5130
Juniper qfx5200
Juniper qfx5210
Juniper qfx5220
Juniper qfx5230-64cd
Juniper qfx5240
Juniper qfx5241
Juniper qfx5700
CPEs cpe:2.3:h:juniper:ex4600:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:ex4650:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5110:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5120:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5130:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5200:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5210:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5220:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5230-64cd:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5240:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5241:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:h:juniper:qfx5700:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:21.4:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3-s2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:juniper:junos:22.2:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Juniper ex4600
Juniper ex4650
Juniper junos
Juniper qfx5110
Juniper qfx5120
Juniper qfx5130
Juniper qfx5200
Juniper qfx5210
Juniper qfx5220
Juniper qfx5230-64cd
Juniper qfx5240
Juniper qfx5241
Juniper qfx5700

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Juniper
Juniper junos Os
Vendors & Products Juniper
Juniper junos Os

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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/<platform>-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.
Title Junos OS: EX4600 Series and QFX5000 Series: An attacker with physical access can open a persistent backdoor
Weaknesses CWE-346
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/AU:N/R:U/RE:H'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: juniper

Published:

Updated: 2025-10-09T19:49:29.942Z

Reserved: 2025-09-23T18:19:06.954Z

Link: CVE-2025-59957

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2025-10-09T19:45:09.262Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2025-10-09T16:15:45.657

Modified: 2026-01-23T18:35:32.800

Link: CVE-2025-59957

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2025-10-10T11:18:03Z

Weaknesses