CVE-2020-10030: An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0.
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Plan (action score 42/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 24.4% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 97.8% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: pdns-recursor (Debian:12) 4.3.1-1; pdns-recursor (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1; pdns-recursor (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 4.5.5-1.3.
Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to pdns-recursor (Debian:12) 4.3.1-1; pdns-recursor (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1; pdns-recursor (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 4.5.5-1.3 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0. It allows an attacker (with enough privileges to change the system's hostname) to cause disclosure of uninitialized memory content via a stack-based out-of-bounds read. It only occurs on systems where gethostname() does not have '\0' termination of the returned string if the hostname is larger than the supplied buffer. (Linux systems are not affected because the buffer is always large enough. OpenBSD systems are not affected because the returned hostname always has '\0' termination.) Under some conditions, this issue can lead to the writing of one '\0' byte out-of-bounds on the stack, causing a denial of service or possibly arbitrary code execution.
- Published
- May 19, 2020
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 24.4% · 97th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-125
Report tools
Action score
42
Plan
Add it to your regular patch cycle.
- CVSS
- 35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 7 / 30 · 24.4%
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| powerdns | recursor | cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- powerdns recursor4.1.0 and later · up to 4.3.0 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 4.3.1-1 | 4.3.1-1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | pdns-recursor | before 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 | 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | pdns-recursor | before 4.5.5-1.3 | 4.5.5-1.3 |
| SUSE:Package Hub 12 SP1 | pdns-recursor | before 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 | 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 |
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 whe45Plan
- 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
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2019-3807Jan 29, 2019 · An 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
- ← EarlierCVE-2020-12244May 19, 2020 · An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 through 4.3.0 where records in the answer section of a NXDOMAIN response lacking an SOA w31Monitor
- Later →CVE-2020-10995May 19, 2020 · PowerDNS Recursor from 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0 does not sufficiently defend against amplification attacks.31Monitor
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 | 4.3.1-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:pdns-recursor | 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.1 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:pdns-recursor | 4.1.12-bp151.4.3.1 · SUSE:Package Hub 12 SP1 | 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.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
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
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds ReadCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (3 more)Show less
- doc.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2020-03.html
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NMP72NJGKBWR5WEBXAWX5KSLQUDFTG6S/
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PS4ZN5XGENYNFKX7QIIOUCQQHXE37GJF/
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.