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NVD / CVE Program· CNA isc

CVE-2025-40778: Cache poisoning attacks with unsolicited RRs

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 34/100)

  • Public proof-of-concept code exists (GitHub); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.66% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 51.8% of all records.
  • 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.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: cbl2 bind 9.16.50-2 on CBL Mariner 2.0 9.16.50-3.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to cbl2 bind 9.16.50-2 on CBL Mariner 2.0 9.16.50-3 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

Under certain circumstances, BIND is too lenient when accepting records from answers, allowing an attacker to inject forged data into the cache. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.11.0 through 9.16.50, 9.18.0 through 9.18.39, 9.20.0 through 9.20.13, 9.21.0 through 9.21.12, 9.11.3-S1 through 9.16.50-S1, 9.18.11-S1 through 9.18.39-S1, and 9.20.9-S1 through 9.20.13-S1.

HighCVSS 8.6 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available
Published
Oct 22, 2025
Updated
Oct 8, 2026
EPSS
0.6% · 51th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

34

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
34 / 40 · 8.6 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · isc
8.6
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.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2025-40778

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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Affected 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.

—

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

    • 9.11.0 and later · up to and including 9.16.50affected
    • 9.18.0 and later · up to and including 9.18.39affected
    • 9.20.0 and later · up to and including 9.20.13affected
    • 9.21.0 and later · up to and including 9.21.12affected
    • 9.11.3-S1 and later · up to and including 9.16.50-S1affected
    • 9.18.11-S1 and later · up to and including 9.18.39-S1affected
    • 9.20.9-S1 and later · up to and including 9.20.13-S1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
AlmaLinux:10bindbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-chrootbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-develbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-dnssec-utilsbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-docbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-docbefore 32:9.18.33-4.el10_0.232:9.18.33-4.el10_0.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-libsbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-licensebefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-licensebefore 32:9.18.33-4.el10_0.232:9.18.33-4.el10_0.2
AlmaLinux:10bind-utilsbefore 32:9.18.33-10.el10_1.232:9.18.33-10.el10_1.2
AlmaLinux:8bindbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-chrootbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-develbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-export-develbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-export-libsbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-libsbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-libs-litebefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-licensebefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-lite-develbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-pkcs11before 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-pkcs11-develbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-pkcs11-libsbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-pkcs11-utilsbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6
AlmaLinux:8bind-sdbbefore 32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.632:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6

+96

Same product

isc: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2025-40775DNS message with invalid TSIG causes an assertion failure
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2024-12705DNS-over-HTTPS implementation suffers from multiple issues under heavy query load
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2024-11187Many records in the additional section cause CPU exhaustion
    35Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-40776Jul 16, 2025 · Birthday Attack against Resolvers supporting ECS
    34Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-40777Jul 16, 2025 · A possible assertion failure when 'stale-answer-client-timeout' is set to '0'
    30Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2025-40780Oct 22, 2025 · Cache poisoning due to weak PRNG
    34Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
cbl2 bind 9.16.50-2 on CBL Mariner 2.09.16.50-3 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
almalinux:bind32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind-chroot32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind-devel32:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.1632:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-chroot32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-devel32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-dnssec-utils32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-doc32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-libs32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-license32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:bind9.16-utils32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
almalinux:python3-bind9.1632:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
alpine:bind9.18.41-r0 · Alpine:v3.19Package registry (OSV)
debian:bind91:9.18.41-1~deb12u1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:bind9.18.33-150600.3.18.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.6Package registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.1632:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-chroot32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-debuginfo32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-debugsource32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-dnssec-utils32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-dnssec-utils-debuginfo32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-libs32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-libs-debuginfo32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-license32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-utils32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:bind9.16-utils-debuginfo32:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:python3-bind9.1632:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
rocky linux:bind2:9.11.36-16.el8_10.6 · Rocky Linux:8Package registry (OSV)
rocky linux:bind9.162:9.16.23-0.22.el8_10.4 · Rocky Linux:8Package registry (OSV)

+3

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×3

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:62025-10-29
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-01-09
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12026-02-04

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.

  1. Published
  2. First PoC+6 d
  3. TodayOct 31, 2026+374 d

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 researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2025-4077698 days apartBirthday Attack against Resolvers supporting ECS
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2026-19033329 days apartUnauthenticated IXFR deltas are applied to the live zone before TSIG verification
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2026-78301329 days apartOut-of-zone database nodes can become authoritative zone cuts
    23Monitor

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
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-349 · Acceptance of Extraneous Untrusted Data With Trusted Data

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

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.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records