PowerDNS Recursor before 3.6.2 does not limit delegation chaining, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service ("performance
PowerDNS Recursor before 3.6.2 does not limit delegation chaining, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service ("performance degradations") via a large or infinite number of referrals, as demonstrated by resolving domains hosted by ezdns.it.
- Published
- Dec 10, 2014
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 68.9% · 99th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-399
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Report tools
Action score
41
Plan
Add it to your regular patch cycle.
- CVSS
- 20 / 40 · 5.0 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 21 / 30 · 68.9%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| powerdns | recursor | cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor |
| debian | debian linux | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- debian debian linux7.0
- powerdns recursorup to 3.6.1 inclusive
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | pdns-recursor | before 3.6.2-1 | 3.6.2-1 |
| Debian:6.0 | pdns-recursor | before 3.2-4+deb6u1 | 3.2-4+deb6u1 |
| Debian:7 | pdns-recursor | before 3.3-3+deb7u1 | 3.3-3+deb7u1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | pdns-recursor | before 4.0.3-1.2 | 4.0.3-1.2 |
Same product
powerdns: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2018-16855An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before version 4.1.8 where a remote attacker sending a DNS query can trigger an out-of-bounds m48Plan
- CVE-2017-15120An issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference whe46Plan
- CVE-2009-4009Buffer overflow in PowerDNS Recursor before 3.1.7.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) or possibly execute 45Plan
- CVE-2020-10030An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0.42Plan
- CVE-2019-3807An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor versions 4.1.x before 4.1.9 where records in the answer section of responses received from auth39Monitor
- CVE-2009-4010Unspecified vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor before 3.1.7.2 allows remote attackers to spoof DNS data via crafted zones.33Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:pdns-recursor | 3.6.2-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:pdns-recursor | 4.0.3-1.2 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- P · the service can be disrupted
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- P
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-399 · Resource Management ErrorsCVSS vector
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- cert.ssi.gouv.fr/site/CERTFR-2014-AVI-512/index.html
- doc.powerdns.com/md/security/powerdns-advisory-2014-02/
- www.debian.org/security/2014/dsa-3096
- www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/264212
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/71545
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1031310
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.