CVE-2023-36833: A Use After Free vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10001-36MR, and PTX10004, PTX10008, PTX10016 wit

A Use After Free vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10001-36MR, and PTX10004, PTX10008, PTX10016 wit

A Use After Free vulnerability in the packet forwarding engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10001-36MR, and PTX10004, PTX10008, PTX10016 with LC1201/1202 allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS). The process 'aftman-bt' will crash after multiple flaps on a multicast-only fast reroute (MoFRR) enabled interface. This will cause the respective FPC to stop forwarding traffic and it needs to be rebooted to restore the service. An indication that the system experienced this issue is the following log message: <date> <hostname> evo-aftmand-bt[<pid>]: [Error] jexpr_fdb: sanity check failed, ... , app_name L3 Mcast Routes This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on PTX10001-36MR, PTX10004, PTX10008, PTX10016 with LC1201/1202: 21.2 version 21.2R1-EVO and later versions; 21.3 version 21.3R1-EVO and later versions; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S3-EVO; 22.1 version 22.1R1-EVO and later versions; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R3-S2-EVO; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R3-EVO; 22.4 versions prior to 22.4R1-S2-EVO, 22.4R2-EVO.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by sirt@juniper.net

What it means for a small business

Junos OS Evolved is network equipment or remote-access software: the box between your office and the internet. These are a favorite target because breaking one opens the whole office.

If an IT provider set it up, ask them to confirm the firmware version and the date it was updated. If nobody looks after it, that's the bigger problem.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.32%, higher than 24% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.