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HIGHCVE-2026-33489Published Modified CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-33489: CoreDNS transfer plugin subzone ACL bypass via lexicographic zone comparison

CoreDNS is a DNS server that chains plugins. In versions prior to 1.14.3, the transfer plugin can select the wrong ACL stanza when both a parent zone and a more-specific subzone are configured. The longestMatch() function in plugin/transfer/transfer.go uses a lexicographic string comparison instead of an actual longest-suffix match to select the winning zone. As a result, a permissive parent-zone transfer rule can override a restrictive subzone rule depending on zone name ordering (e.g., "example.org." > "a.example.org." lexicographically). This allows an unauthorized remote client to perform AXFR/IXFR for the subzone and retrieve its full zone contents. This issue has been fixed in version 1.14.3.

Metrics

CVSS v4.0
8.2
Severity
HIGH
Fixed in
Affected Products
1
Affected packages
  • coredns / coredns
    < 1.14.3
CVSS Vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVE-2026-33489: CoreDNS transfer plugin subzone ACL bypass via lexicographic zone comparison | HarborGuard CVE