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CRITICALCVE-2026-33278Published Modified CNA NLnet Labs

CVE-2026-33278: Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation

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.

Metrics

CVSS v4.0
9.1
Severity
CRITICAL
Fixed in
1.25.1
Affected Products
1

Fix available

1.25.1
Affected packages
  • NLnet Labs / Unbound
    < 1.25.1 (from 1.19.1)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:U/U:Red
References
CVE-2026-33278: Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation | HarborGuard CVE