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CVE-2026-12969· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

Dnsmasq: dnsmasq: out-of-bounds read in find_soa() due to missing extrabytes validation

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 21/100)

  • 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: 0.23% (FIRST EPSS).
  • 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: azl3 dnsmasq 2.92-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.93-1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to azl3 dnsmasq 2.92-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.93-1 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 out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in dnsmasq's find_soa() function in src/rfc1035.c. When parsing NS section records, extract_name() is called with extrabytes=0, failing to validate that 10 additional bytes exist for fixed-length DNS record fields. A remote attacker controlling a DNS zone can exploit this via a crafted NXDOMAIN response to cause a 10-byte heap out-of-bounds read, potentially accessing stale data from prior transactions.

MediumCVSS 5.3 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jun 23, 2026
Updated
Aug 31, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 13th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

21

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
21 / 40 · 5.3 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · redhat
5.3
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
  • 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.

Follow CVE-2026-12969

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.

VendorProduct
redhatenterprise linux
thekelleysdnsmasq

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • redhat enterprise linux10.0
  • thekelleys dnsmasqbefore 2.93

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

    • all versionsunknown

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

    • all versionsunknown

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

    • all versionsunknown

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

    • all versionsunknown

  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

    • all versionsunknown
    • all versionsunknown

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12dnsmasqall versions—
Debian:13dnsmasqbefore 2.91-1+deb13u22.91-1+deb13u2
Debian:14dnsmasqbefore 2.93-12.93-1
openSUSE:Tumbleweeddnsmasqbefore 2.93-2.12.93-2.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3dnsmasqbefore 2.93-150400.16.17.12.93-150400.16.17.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSSdnsmasqbefore 2.93-18.32.12.93-18.32.1
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.0dnsmasqbefore 2.93-1.12.93-1.1
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1dnsmasqbefore 2.93-slfo.1.1_2.12.93-slfo.1.1_2.1

Same product

redhat: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

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    62This week
  • CVE-2023-50387Certain DNSSEC aspects of the DNS protocol (in RFC 4033, 4034, 4035, 6840, and related RFCs) allow remote attackers to cause a denial of ser
    60This week
  • CVE-2017-5456A mechanism to bypass file system access protections in the sandbox using the file system request constructor through an IPC message.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2017-5428An integer overflow in "createImageBitmap()" was reported through the Pwn2Own contest.
    40Plan
  • CVE-2021-20325Missing fixes for CVE-2021-40438 and CVE-2021-26691 in the versions of httpd, as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5.0, causes a securit
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2008-3844Certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4 and 5 packages for OpenSSH, as signed in August 2008 using a legitimate Red Hat GPG key, contain a
    38Monitor

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
azl3 dnsmasq 2.92-1 on Azure Linux 3.02.93-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
debian:dnsmasq2.91-1+deb13u2 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:dnsmasq2.93-2.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
suse:dnsmasq2.93-slfo.1.1_2.1 · SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1Package 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.

EPSS, last 120 days

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 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-2026-7358351 days apartSblim-sfcb: unsafe deserialization in sblim-sfcb provider-manager ipc allows out-of-bounds memory access via malformed operationhdr
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2026-7122272 days apartGfs2-utils: gfs2-utils: heap out-of-bounds read via unchecked ea_num_ptrs in extended attribute processing
    25Monitor

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
low · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds Read

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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

References

Show all references (1 more)

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

All records