PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 3.4.10 does not properly handle a .
PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 3.4.10 does not properly handle a . (dot) inside labels, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (backend CPU consumption) via a crafted DNS query.
- Published
- Sep 21, 2016
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 63.0% · 99th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-399
Sign in to follow · You’ll be notified if a followed record enters KEV, gets an exploit or is updated.
Report tools
Action score
49
Plan
Add it to your regular patch cycle.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 19 / 30 · 63.0%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| powerdns | authoritative | cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:authoritative |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- powerdns authoritativeup to 3.4.9 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 | before 4.0.0~alpha1-1 | 4.0.0~alpha1-1 |
| Debian:7 | pdns | before 3.1-4.1+deb7u2 | 3.1-4.1+deb7u2 |
| Debian:8 | pdns | before 3.4.1-4+deb8u6 | 3.4.1-4+deb8u6 |
Same product
powerdns: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2015-1868The label decompression functionality in PowerDNS Recursor 3.5.x, 3.6.x before 3.6.3, and 3.7.x before 3.7.2 and Authoritative (Auth) Server56Plan
- CVE-2020-24698An issue was discovered in PowerDNS Authoritative through 4.3.0 when --enable-experimental-gss-tsig is used.40Plan
- CVE-2015-5311PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server 3.4.4 before 3.4.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (assertion failure and serv40Plan
- CVE-2026-33608Incomplete domain name sanitization during39Monitor
- CVE-2016-5426PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 3.4.10 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (backend CPU consumption) via a 39Monitor
- CVE-2026-42000Insufficient Validation of Names During AXFR34Monitor
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 | 4.0.0~alpha1-1 · Debian:12 | 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.
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
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-399 · Resource Management ErrorsCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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
- www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3664
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/09/09/3
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/92917
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1036761
- doc.powerdns.com/md/security/powerdns-advisory-2016-01/
- github.com/PowerDNS/pdns/commit/881b5b03a590198d03008e4200dd00cc537712f3
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.