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High ALAS2023-2026-3127 6 CVEs

Important: unbound security update (Amazon Linux 2023)

Published Sep 28, 2026 · Updated Sep 28, 2026

Summary

Package updates are available for Amazon Linux 2023 that fix the following vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-85501: Novel vulnerabilities to launch algorithmic complexity attacks on DNSSEC have been researched under the term 'ReTrap'. These result in degradation of service when malicious zones are used to serve the algorithmic complexity vulnerabilities. NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0 is vulnerable to some of them. TagTrap, where the triple(Zone, Algo, KeyTag) matching mechanism introduces a significant attack vector when resolvers handle malicious responses containing numerous mismatched DNSKEY, RRSIG, and DS record. DelegationTrap, where constructing the chain-of-trust requires iterative validation of DNSKEY and DS records from the root zone downward. For deeply nested domains, this results in significant computational overhead. NsecTrap, where responses with excessive invalid NSEC records compel the resolver to validate each one. AdditionalTrap, where Unbound by default would try to DNSSEC validate the ADDITIONAL section as well. This can be exploited to waste validation resources by malicious users. CVE-2026-82720: NLnet Labs Unbound 1.12.0 up to and including 1.26.0 has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-HTTPs support with '--with-libnghttp2'. During failure code paths (i.e., RPZ drop query, jostle due to heavy traffic), a dropped DoH stream brings down the whole DoH session and does not account properly for other DoH streams in the same session. This leads to use-after-free in those code paths. If the prerequisites are satisfied (possible RPZ drop or heavy client traffic), a malicious actor can trigger the vulnerability with a single DoH connection and the appropriate traffic. Impact is limited as the reads are not user controlled and the use-after-free leads to early returns. However, a hardened allocator can catch the use-after-free and controllably terminate the process resulting to denial of service. CVE-2026-82717: In NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a vulnerability was found in that can progressively corrupt heap memory and under certain systems and compilation options could lead to remote code execution. The vulnerability starts when CNAME synthesis during an upstream response needs to enforce(rewrite) a max TTL value in the packet buffer. Coupled with a compression pointer that points to the overwritten value and invalidates the domain name, it leads to an error path that does not properly move the buffer position and allows for the heap buffer overflow. Since this is heavily reliant on heap memory layout, results are memory corruption that eventually leads to a crash and under specific systems and compilation options remote code execution. CVE-2026-81634: In NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a 255 length query name with a large TCP response can lead to a heap buffer overflow during the RRSet canonicalisation routine. This is caused by missing to add the first owner name into the buffer length check. A malicious actor operating a malicious name server or tampering with an incoming response to Unbound (canonicalisation happens before DNSSEC validation), can trigger the vulnerability. CVE-2026-80225: In NLnetLabs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a degradation of service vulnerability is present in the TCP/DoT reading procedure where there is no limit on consecutive reads. A malicious actor that can stream and sustain a rate of distinct uncached names over the TCP/DoT connection, monopolizes a single worker's entire event loop for as long as its writes stay ahead of the drain. CVE-2026-77955: In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.13.2 up to and including 1.26.1, a vulnerability in ZONEMD configured zones (zonemd-check: yes) which are located below (but not at) a trust anchor allow for an attack window where (tampered with) zone contents are served (or stored to disk) prior to the ZONEMD integrity check. This is caused by the needed DS/DNSKEY asynchronous resolution that needs to happen before the ZONEMD check completes. If a zonefile is written to disk (zonefile: option) while the ZONEMD check failed, the tampered data are reloaded on startup and available until ZONEMD verification concludes again. If verification fails, the data is not served any more but still persists on disk for future reloads.

Fixed packages 12

ReleasePackageFixed in
Amazon Linux · 2023 python3-unbound 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 python3-unbound-debuginfo 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-anchor 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-anchor-debuginfo 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-debuginfo 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-debugsource 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-devel 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-libs 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-libs-debuginfo 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-utils 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15
Amazon Linux · 2023 unbound-utils-debuginfo 0:1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.15

Vulnerabilities 6

  • High 8.4

    CNAME synthesis could lead to heap corruption

    In NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a vulnerability was found in that can progressively corrupt heap memory and under certain systems and compilation options could lead to remote code execution. The vulnerability starts when CNAME synthesis duri…

  • High 7.5

    Possible heap buffer overflow during DNSSEC canonicalization

    In NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a 255 length query name with a large TCP response can lead to a heap buffer overflow during the RRSet canonicalisation routine. This is caused by missing to add the first owner name into the buffer length chec…

  • Medium 5.9

    Use-after-free in DoH stream cleanup code path

    NLnet Labs Unbound 1.12.0 up to and including 1.26.0 has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-HTTPs support with '--with-libnghttp2'. During failure code paths (i.e., RPZ drop query, jostle due to heavy traffic), a dropped DoH stream brin…

  • Medium 5.3

    Possible degradation of service from continuous queries on the same TCP/DoT connection

    In NLnetLabs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a degradation of service vulnerability is present in the TCP/DoT reading procedure where there is no limit on consecutive reads. A malicious actor that can stream and sustain a rate of distinct uncached names o…

  • Medium 5.3

    Retrap: Novel Vulnerabilities to launch Algorithmic Complexity Attacks on DNSSEC

    Novel vulnerabilities to launch algorithmic complexity attacks on DNSSEC have been researched under the term 'ReTrap'. These result in degradation of service when malicious zones are used to serve the algorithmic complexity vulnerabilities. NLnet Labs Unbound…

  • Medium 4.4

    Possible ZONEMD verification bypass window

    In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.13.2 up to and including 1.26.1, a vulnerability in ZONEMD configured zones (zonemd-check: yes) which are located below (but not at) a trust anchor allow for an attack window where (tampered with) zone contents are served (or stored to…

References

  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-77955.html
  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-80225.html
  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-81634.html
  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-82717.html
  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-82720.html
  • web
    https://alas.aws.amazon.com/cve/html/CVE-2026-85501.html