CVE-2026-33278
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
CVSS
9.8
Critical
EPSS
1.3%
p67
KEV
—
Exploit Today
20
0-100
Published: May 20, 2026 · Last modified: Jul 15, 2026 · CWE-416 · CWE-672
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.
- www.nlnetlabs.nlhttps://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-33278.txt
- access.redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19752
- access.redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23231
- access.redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:24369
- access.redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-33278
- bugzilla.redhat.comhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2479808
- security.access.redhat.comhttps://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-33278.json