CVE Watchtower

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CVE-2026-78227NVD

Vulnerability Summary

NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.26.1, has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-QUIC support with '--with-libngtcp2'. Each DoQ stream owns an output buffer that holds the DNS response. ngtcp2's retransmission buffer keeps a shallow pointer into the output buffer for as long as a STREAM frame may be resent. On a client RESET_STREAM, the output buffer is freed but ngtcp2 still holds the matching retransmission entries. The next PTO timeout makes ngtcp2 re-encode the STREAM frame and copy from the freed buffer. A malicious actor that can query Unbound over DoQ and that withholds ACKs, sends RESET_STREAM, and waits for PTO, reaches this use-after-free with no privilege. This leads to retransmissions against freed memory and eventually an abnormal server exit under a 20-query spray.
Severity Level
MEDIUM(6.5)
Published Date
Sep 16, 2026
Last Modified
Sep 23, 2026
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
EPSS Score (30-Day)
0.34%Probability
Root Weakness (CWE)
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
CVSS v3.1 Base Metrics — Score 6.5 (MEDIUM)
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityLow

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
  • Nlnetlabs Unbound >= 1.22.0 and < 1.26.1
Patched Versions
  • Nlnetlabs Unbound 1.26.1
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📈EPSS Spike Alerts — Catch rising risk before it peaks.
🎯Custom EPSS/CVSS — Filter noise, focus on risk.
🛡️Exploit Intel — A 2nd confirmed-exploit signal beyond KEV.
🐙GitHub Issues — Auto-tracked, no duplicates.
📬Weekly Digest — One clean summary, not inbox spam.
🏷️Watchlist Groups — Tag alerts by team (Infra/AppSec/SOC).
💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
🔀Smart Routing — Critical alerts to one channel, rest to another.
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