CVE-2026-50243
Received Received - Intake

DNSSEC Validation Bypass in Unbound DNS Resolver

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-50243, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-07-22

Last updated on: 2026-07-22

Assigner: NLnet Labs

Description

In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.6.2 up to and including 1.25.1, when Unbound is configured with the 'respip' module in front of the validator together with a 'response-ip' redirect rule or an RPZ file with an RPZ-IP trigger, the rewriting handler does not check the security status of the upstream answer and can instead rewrite a BOGUS A/AAAA answer to point to an operator's configured IP. If the validator finds an expired or otherwise invalid RRSIG on an answer whose A record falls within a 'response-ip'/RPZ configuration, the answer is still rewritten and given a hard coded security level of INSECURE. This results in the client receiving an INSECURE NOERROR reply rewritten by the operator's configured IP. A malicious actor can exploit the possible poisonous effect by spoofing a BOGUS A/AAAA answer that falls inside the operator's configured subnet rewrites. Such DNSSEC protected answers are then insecurely redirected to the operator's configured target.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published
2026-07-22
Last Modified
2026-07-22
Generated
2026-07-22
AI Q&A
2026-07-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
nlnet_labs unbound to 1.25.1 (inc)
nlnet_labs unbound 1.6.2
nlnet_labs unbound From 1.6.2 (inc) to 1.25.1 (inc)
nlnet_labs unbound 1.25.2

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-348 The product has two different sources of the same data or information, but it uses the source that has less support for verification, is less trusted, or is less resistant to attack.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-50243 is a flaw in Unbound DNS software versions 1.6.2 to 1.25.1. When configured with the 'respip' module and a 'response-ip' redirect rule or RPZ file, the software fails to check the security status of upstream DNS responses. This allows it to rewrite BOGUS A/AAAA answers to point to an operator's configured IP, even if the validator detects invalid signatures. The result is an INSECURE NOERROR reply that is insecurely redirected.

Detection Guidance

Check if your Unbound version is between 1.6.2 and 1.25.1 by running 'unbound -v'. If using 'respip' module with 'response-ip' redirect or RPZ-IP triggers, inspect logs for INSECURE NOERROR replies with rewritten A/AAAA records.

Impact Analysis

A malicious actor could exploit this to spoof DNS answers within the operator's subnet, causing legitimate DNSSEC-protected answers to be redirected to a malicious IP. This could lead to users accessing fake websites, data interception, or other attacks.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could undermine compliance with GDPR and HIPAA by enabling DNS spoofing attacks that redirect DNSSEC-protected answers to malicious IPs. This may lead to unauthorized data exposure or integrity violations, as attackers could intercept or manipulate DNS responses.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Unbound to version 1.25.2 or later. If upgrading is not possible, apply the manual patch for version 1.25.1. Disable the 'respip' module if not required.

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