CVE-2026-46582

Description

A flaw was found in Unbound, a Domain Name System (DNS) resolver. A remote attacker can exploit a vulnerability in how Unbound handles expired DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) records. By injecting a replayed wildcard record set, an attacker can cause Unbound to temporarily consider it secure, leading to the caching of a poisoned record. This can result in information disclosure, where a legitimate DNS record is incorrectly resolved as a wildcard record, potentially misdirecting network traffic.

Statement

This issue has a Low impact as it requires a sophisticated attacker to inject specific DNSSEC wildcard replay data. The vulnerability in Unbound's handling of expired DNSSEC records could lead to temporary information disclosure, where a legitimate DNS record is briefly misresolved as a wildcard. This limited impact and the high attack complexity contribute to its Low severity.

Mitigation

To mitigate this issue, disable the serve-expired feature by setting serve-expired: no in the Unbound configuration if it is not strictly required. This entirely removes the vulnerable code path where the cache poisoning occurs.

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 HatNVDcve.org
Base Score3.7N/A3.7
Attack VectorNetworkN/ANetwork
Attack ComplexityHighN/AHigh
Privileges RequiredNoneN/ANone
User InteractionNoneN/ANone
ScopeUnchangedN/AUnchanged
ConfidentialityNoneN/ANone
Integrity ImpactLowN/ALow
Availability ImpactNoneN/ANone

Vector

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

cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Access Control

Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism

Frequently Asked Questions

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