Description
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.15.0 up to and including 1.25.1, the TLS server name used for DNS-over-TLS (DoT) forwarded queries is tied to a struct's ('serviced_query') lifetime but also referenced by another struct ('waiting_tcp'). When the owning struct is jostled out of the mesh while the DoT TCP stream is still handshaking it frees the storage behind the referenced string and if the TLS stream then errors out, it dereferences the freed pointer. The dereference is read-only and the practical impact is a daemon crash resulting in denial of service. A malicious actor that knows a DoT forwarding/stub Unbound's configuration could exploit the vulnerability by quering records in the appropriate zone while keeping Unbound uder pressure so that the jostle logic kicks in. If answers for the vulnerable zone are slow, the likelihood of jostling such queries is higher, although the timing of the jostle needs to be precise. Requirements for a vulnerable Unbound is the existence of a stub/forward zone configured for DoT together with a configured '#authname' suffix on the server identification. The connectivity to the server needs to exhibit a transient failure at the correct time in order to kick off the vulnerable error path.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLnet Labs | Unbound | 1.15.0 – < 1.25.2 | 1.25.2 |
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 | unbound | 1.25.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | unbound | 1.26.1-0+deb13u1 | — |
| Debian 12 | unbound | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | unbound | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | unbound +6 | 1.26.1-2.el10_3 | RHSA-2026:97121 |
| RHEL 9 | unbound +4 | 1.26.1-1.el9_9 | RHSA-2026:97497 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | unbound +7 | 1.25.2-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:43588 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | unbound +6 | 1.26.1-2.el10_3 | RLSA-2026:97121 |
| Rocky Linux 9 | unbound +4 | 1.26.1-1.el9_9 | RLSA-2026:97497 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | unbound | 1.25.2-150600.23.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | unbound | 1.25.2-150600.23.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
Show 11 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | unbound | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23226-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23215-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP6 | unbound | 1.25.2-150600.23.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | unbound | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23226-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23215-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | unbound | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23050-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | unbound | 1.25.2-slfo.1.1_1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23349-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | unbound | 1.25.2-1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23360-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.25.2-150100.10.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | unbound | 1.25.2-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11380-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | unbound | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21550-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | unbound | 1.25.2-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | unbound | 1.25.2-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | unbound | 1.25.2-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | unbound +5 | 1.17.1-1.amzn2023.0.13 | ALAS2023-2026-2033 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | unbound | 1.25.2-1 | — |
Advisories 17
- RHSA-2026:97497 Red Hat Security Advisory: unbound security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- RHSA-2026:97121 Red Hat Security Advisory: unbound security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- RLSA-2026:97497 Moderate: unbound security, bug fix, and enhancement update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Nov 13, 2026
- RLSA-2026:97121 Moderate: unbound security, bug fix, and enhancement update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Nov 13, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-2492 Unbound: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 10, 2026
- RHSA-2026:43588 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3884-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23360-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23349-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23226-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23215-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3038 Meinberg LANTIME: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Aug 26, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21550-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 12, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23050-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 12, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-2033 Important: unbound security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Aug 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11380-1 libunbound8-1.25.2-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 27, 2026
References
- https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-50046.txt vendor-advisory