Description
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Authoritative Server before 3.4.11 and 4.0.2 allowing a remote, unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service by opening a large number of TCP connections to the web server. If the web server runs out of file descriptors, it triggers an exception and terminates the whole PowerDNS process. While it's more complicated for an unauthorized attacker to make the web server run out of file descriptors since its connection will be closed just after being accepted, it might still be possible.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Xchange | pdns | 3.4.11, 4.0.2 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | pdns | 4.0.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | pdns | 4.0.2-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | pdns | 4.0.2-1 | — |
| Debian 8 | pdns | 3.4.1-4+deb8u7 | DSA-3764-1 |
| Debian 7 | pdns | 3.1-4.1+deb7u3 | DLA-798-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | pdns | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | pdns | 4.5.1-1.5 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11156-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.5 | pdns | 4.0.3-r0 | — |
Advisories 3
- DLA-798-1 pdns - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-3764-1 pdns - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11156-1 pdns-4.5.1-1.5 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026