Malformed NSEC records can cause named to terminate unexpectedly when synth-from-dnssec is enabled
A `named` instance configured to run as a DNSSEC-validating recursive resolver with the Aggressive Use of DNSSEC-Validated Cache (RFC 8198) option (`synth-from-dnssec`) enabled can be remotely terminated using a zone with a malformed NSEC record. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.16.8-S1 through 9.16.41-S1 and 9.18.11-S1 through 9.18.15-S1.
- Published
- Jun 21, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.9% · 57th percentile
- CWE
- —
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Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.9%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · isc
- 7.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| isc | bind | cpe:2.3:a:isc:bind |
| netapp | active iq unified manager | cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager |
| netapp | h500s firmware | cpe:2.3:o:netapp:h500s_firmware |
| netapp | h500s | cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h500s |
| netapp | h700s firmware | cpe:2.3:o:netapp:h700s_firmware |
| netapp | h700s | cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h700s |
| netapp | h410s firmware | cpe:2.3:o:netapp:h410s_firmware |
| netapp | h410s | cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h410s |
| netapp | h410c firmware | cpe:2.3:o:netapp:h410c_firmware |
| netapp | h410c | cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h410c |
| netapp | h300s firmware | cpe:2.3:o:netapp:h300s_firmware |
| netapp | h300s | cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h300s |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- isc bind9.16.8 and later · up to 9.16.41 inclusive
- isc bind9.18.11 and later · up to 9.18.15 inclusive
- netapp active iq unified managerall versions
- netapp h300s firmwareall versions
- netapp h410c firmwareall versions
- netapp h410s firmwareall versions
- netapp h500s firmwareall versions
- netapp h700s firmwareall versions
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (isc). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
ISC BIND 9
- 9.16.8-S1 and later · up to and including 9.16.41-S1affected
- 9.18.11-S1 and later · up to and including 9.18.15-S1affected
Same product
isc: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2015-5477named in ISC BIND 9.x before 9.9.7-P2 and 9.10.x before 9.10.2-P3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (REQUIRE assertion fa58Plan
- CVE-2016-2776buffer.c in named in ISC BIND 9 before 9.9.9-P3, 9.10.x before 9.10.4-P3, and 9.11.x before 9.11.0rc3 does not properly construct responses,57Plan
- CVE-2016-1286named in ISC BIND 9.x before 9.9.8-P4 and 9.10.x before 9.10.3-P4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (assertion failure an53Plan
- CVE-2020-8625A vulnerability in BIND's GSSAPI security policy negotiation can be targeted by a buffer overflow attack51Plan
- CVE-2020-8617A logic error in code which checks TSIG validity can be used to trigger an assertion failure in tsig.c51Plan
- CVE-2001-0010Buffer overflow in transaction signature (TSIG) handling code in BIND 8 allows remote attackers to gain root privileges.49Plan
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
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.
- Greg KuechleSaskTel for bringing this vulnerability to our attention.
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)
—
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-secondary
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
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.