CVE-2026-33278 (GCVE-0-2026-33278)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-05-20 09:18
Modified
2026-05-20 12:13
CWE
  • CWE-416 - Use After Free
  • CWE-672 - Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release
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.
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
NLnet Labs Unbound Version: 1.19.1   
Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website


{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-33278",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "yes"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-05-20T12:13:01.681597Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-05-20T12:13:09.692Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Unbound",
          "vendor": "NLnet Labs",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "1.25.1",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1.19.1",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "finder",
          "value": "Qifan Zhang (Palo Alto Networks)"
        }
      ],
      "datePublic": "2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z",
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "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\u0027s pointer with the source\u0027s 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": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "baseScore": 9.1,
            "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL",
            "vectorString": "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",
            "version": "4.0"
          },
          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-416",
              "description": "CWE-416: Use After Free",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            },
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-672",
              "description": "CWE-672: Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-05-20T09:18:15.225Z",
        "orgId": "206fc3a0-e175-490b-9eaa-a5738056c9f6",
        "shortName": "NLnet Labs"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "vendor-advisory"
          ],
          "url": "https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-33278.txt"
        }
      ],
      "solutions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "This issue is fixed starting with version 1.25.1"
        }
      ],
      "timeline": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z",
          "value": "Issue reported by Qifan Zhang"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z",
          "value": "NLnet Labs shares patch"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z",
          "value": "Qifan Zhang verifies patch"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z",
          "value": "Fixes released with version 1.25.1"
        }
      ],
      "title": "Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "cvelib 1.8.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "206fc3a0-e175-490b-9eaa-a5738056c9f6",
    "assignerShortName": "NLnet Labs",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-33278",
    "datePublished": "2026-05-20T09:18:15.225Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-05-07T10:07:51.853Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-05-20T12:13:09.692Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}


Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.


Loading…

Loading…

Loading…

Sightings

Author Source Type Date

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.


Loading…

Loading…