CVE-2024-39562: A Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime vulnerability the xinetd process, responsible for spawning SSH daemon (sshd) instances, of Juniper Networ

A Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime vulnerability the xinetd process, responsible for spawning SSH daemon (sshd) instances, of Juniper Networ

A Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime vulnerability the xinetd process, responsible for spawning SSH daemon (sshd) instances, of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by blocking SSH access for legitimate users. Continued receipt of these connections will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. The issue is triggered when a high rate of concurrent SSH requests are received and terminated in a specific way, causing xinetd to crash, and leaving defunct sshd processes. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability blocks both SSH access as well as services which rely upon SSH, such as SFTP, and Netconf over SSH. Once the system is in this state, legitimate users will be unable to SSH to the device until service is manually restored. See WORKAROUND section below. Administrators can monitor an increase in defunct sshd processes by utilizing the CLI command: > show system processes | match sshd root 25219 30901 0 Jul16 ? 00:00:00 [sshd] <defunct> This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: * All versions prior to 21.4R3-S7-EVO * 22.3-EVO ve

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 0.43%, higher than 37% 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.

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