Description
NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.26.1, has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-QUIC support with '--with-libngtcp2'. Each DoQ stream owns an output buffer that holds the DNS response. ngtcp2's retransmission buffer keeps a shallow pointer into the output buffer for as long as a STREAM frame may be resent. On a client RESET_STREAM, the output buffer is freed but ngtcp2 still holds the matching retransmission entries. The next PTO timeout makes ngtcp2 re-encode the STREAM frame and copy from the freed buffer. A malicious actor that can query Unbound over DoQ and that withholds ACKs, sends RESET_STREAM, and waits for PTO, reaches this use-after-free with no privilege. This leads to retransmissions against freed memory and eventually an abnormal server exit under a 20-query spray.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLnet Labs | Unbound | 1.22.0 – < 1.26.1 | 1.26.1 |
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 | 1.26.1-1 | — |
| 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 | 1.26.1-1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:68590 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | unbound | 1.26.1-150600.23.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | unbound | 1.26.1-150600.23.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
Show 11 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | unbound | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24226-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP6 | unbound | 1.26.1-150600.23.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | unbound | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24226-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | unbound | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24128-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | unbound | 1.26.1-slfo.1.1_1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24376-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | unbound | 1.26.1-159998.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24135-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP5 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | unbound | 1.26.1-150100.10.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | unbound | 1.26.1-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11930-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | unbound | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:22082-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | unbound | 1.26.1-1 | — |
Advisories 10
- WID-SEC-2026-3392 Unbound: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:24376-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:24226-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 21, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:22082-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 19, 2026
- RHSA-2026:68590 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:24135-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:24128-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 13, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:4624-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 13, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 Security update for unbound SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 13, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11930-1 libunbound8-1.26.1-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 30, 2026
References
- https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-78227.txt vendor-advisory