CVE-2025-52988 is a vulnerability classified as CWE-78, indicating improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command, commonly known as OS command injection. This vulnerability exists in the command-line interface (CLI) of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved. Specifically, it affects the 'request system logout' command, which when supplied with specially crafted arguments by a high-privileged local user, results in execution of arbitrary shell commands with root privileges. This allows the attacker to escalate their privileges to root, effectively compromising the entire device. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved, including all versions prior to certain patch releases across versions 21.2R3-S9 through 23.4R2 and their evolved counterparts. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.7, indicating a medium severity level. The vector indicates that the attack requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), high privileges (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The root cause is improper sanitization of user input in the CLI command, allowing injection of shell commands executed as root. This vulnerability is critical for network infrastructure devices running Junos OS, as it can lead to full device compromise by an insider or an attacker with local access.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to network infrastructure security. Juniper Networks devices running Junos OS are widely deployed in enterprise, government, and telecommunications networks across Europe. Successful exploitation could allow a malicious insider or an attacker who has gained local access to escalate privileges to root, enabling them to manipulate network configurations, intercept or redirect traffic, disrupt services, or establish persistent backdoors. This could lead to data breaches, service outages, and compromise of critical communications infrastructure. Given the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, organizations relying on Juniper devices for routing, switching, or firewall functions could face severe operational and reputational damage. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the presence of a publicly known vulnerability increases the likelihood of future exploitation attempts, especially in targeted attacks against critical infrastructure or high-value networks in Europe.

European organizations should prioritize patching affected Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved devices by upgrading to the fixed versions listed by Juniper Networks (e.g., 21.2R3-S9 and later). Since the vulnerability requires local high-privileged access, organizations should also enforce strict access controls to limit CLI access to trusted administrators only, using multi-factor authentication and role-based access controls. Monitoring and logging of CLI commands should be enhanced to detect anomalous or suspicious command usage. Network segmentation should be employed to restrict access to management interfaces. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular audits of device configurations and user privileges to identify and remediate potential insider threats. If immediate patching is not feasible, disabling or restricting the use of the 'request system logout' command or limiting access to it can reduce exposure. Finally, incident response plans should be updated to include detection and remediation steps for potential exploitation of this vulnerability.