CVE Watchtower

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CVE-2026-33278NVD

Vulnerability Summary

NLnet Labs Unbound 1.19.1 up to and including version 1.25.0 has a vulnerability in the DNSSEC validator that enables denial of service and possible remote code execution as a result of deep copying a data structure and erroneously overwriting a destination pointer. An adversary can exploit the vulnerability by controlling a malicious signed zone and querying a vulnerable Unbound. When DS sub-queries need to suspend validation due to NSEC3 computational budget exhaustion (introduced in Unbound 1.19.1), Unbound deep-copies response messages to preserve them across memory region teardown. A struct-assignment bug overwrites the destination's pointer with the source's pointer. After the sub-query region is freed, the resumed validator dereferences this dangling pointer, triggering a crash or potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. Unbound 1.25.1 contains a patch with a fix to preserve the correct pointer when deep copying the data structure.
Severity Level
UNKNOWN
Published Date
May 20, 2026
Last Modified
Sep 1, 2026
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
EPSS Score (30-Day)
1.13%Probability
Root Weakness (CWE)
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
CVSS v4.0 Base Metrics — Score 9.1 (CRITICAL)
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Attack RequirementsNone
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
Confidentiality (Vulnerable System)High
Integrity (Vulnerable System)High
Availability (Vulnerable System)High
Confidentiality (Subsequent System)High
Integrity (Subsequent System)High
Availability (Subsequent System)High

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
  • NLnet Labs Unbound >= 1.19.1 and < 1.25.1
Patched Versions
  • NLnet Labs Unbound 1.25.1
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💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
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