Description
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.25.1, a remote unauthenticated client can trigger a libngtcp2 assertion (if compiled with assertions on) and terminate the entire Unbound process using a single DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) connection and one normal DNS query. This is caused by an erroneous error value passed to libngtcp2. When 'ngtcp2_conn_writev_stream()' returns 'NGTCP2_ERR_STREAM_DATA_BLOCKED', Unbound continues to call 'ngtcp2_ccerr_set_application_error()' with a '-1' error value. The 'int' literal '-1' is implicitly converted to the function's 'uint64_t error_code' parameter as '0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF'. The follow-on 'ngtcp2_conn_write_connection_close()' serialises that value as a QUIC variable-length integer; because '2^64-1' exceeds the 62-bit varint ceiling, 'ngtcp2_put_uvarintlen()' fails 'assert(n < 4611686018427387904ULL)' and the whole resolver process aborts. A remote, unauthenticated DoQ client can trigger this deterministically with a single QUIC connection by advertising 'initial_max_stream_data_bidi_local = 1' in its transport parameters and sending one DoQ query without ever reading the stream.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLnet Labs | Unbound | 1.22.0 – < 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 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | unbound +7 | 1.25.2-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:43588 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| 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 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 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | unbound | 1.25.2-1 | — |
Advisories 10
- 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-2026:23360-1 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
- 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-2026-55991.txt vendor-advisory