CVE-2026-50046
Description
A use-after-free flaw was found in Unbound's DNS-over-TLS (DoT) forwarded query handling. A remote attacker can exploit a timing error during TLS handshake failures on a server under load to trigger a daemon crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
Unbound installations within Red Hat environments are vulnerable to a denial of service, leading to a daemon crash, only when specifically configured with DNS-over-TLS (DoT) forwarding or stub zones that include an #authname suffix. Exploitation by a remote attacker necessitates precise timing during transient network failures. Default Unbound configurations, which do not employ DoT forwarding or stub zones with #authname, are not affected. Hence, this is rated having low impact.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, avoid configuring Unbound with a `#authname` suffix in DNS-over-TLS (DoT) forwarding or stub zones if not strictly required. If the `#authname` suffix is necessary, restrict network access to the Unbound instance to trusted clients only. This may involve configuring firewall rules to limit inbound connections to the DoT port (typically 853) from known, secure sources. After modifying Unbound's configuration, the service must be reloaded or restarted for the changes to take effect. This action may temporarily interrupt DNS resolution services.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 3.7 | N/A | 5.9 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
The use of previously freed memory may corrupt valid data, if the memory area in question has been allocated and used properly elsewhere.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If chunk consolidation occurs after the use of previously freed data, the process may crash when invalid data is used as chunk information.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
Read operations on freed memory can sometimes leak sensitive information instead of causing a crash
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If malicious data is entered before chunk consolidation can take place, it may be possible to take advantage of a write-what-where primitive to execute arbitrary code. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.
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