Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-28973


An Improper Authorization vulnerability in the 'sysmanctl' shell command of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved allows a local, authenticated attacker to execute administrative commands that could impact the integrity of the system or system availability. Administrative functions such as daemon restarting, routing engine (RE) switchover, and node shutdown can all be performed through exploitation of the 'sysmanctl' command. Access to the 'sysmanctl' command is only available from the Junos shell. Neither direct nor indirect access to 'sysmanctl' is available from the Junos CLI. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: All versions prior to 20.4R3-S5-EVO; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-EVO; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R2-EVO; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R1-S2-EVO, 21.4R2-EVO.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.1, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from juniper organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2023-04-17T22:15:09.207

Last Modified

2026-06-17T05:49:06.353

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.1 (HIGH)

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-285
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-287

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved < 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 20.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.1 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.2 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.3 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.3 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.3 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.4 Yes
Operating System juniper junos_os_evolved 21.4 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For juniper's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.