PowerDNS Recursor from 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0 does not sufficiently defend…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
PowerDNS Recursor from 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0 does not sufficiently defend against amplification attacks. An issue in the DNS protocol has been found that allow malicious parties to use recursive DNS services to attack third party authoritative name servers. The attack uses a crafted reply by an authoritative name server to amplify the resulting traffic between the recursive and other authoritative name servers. Both types of service can suffer degraded performance as an effect. This is triggered by random subdomains in the NSDNAME in NS records. PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.16, 4.2.2 and 4.3.1 contain a mitigation to limit the impact of this DNS protocol issue.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.1.0 – 4.3.0 | Vulnerable | PowerDNS |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 31 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 32 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:a:opensuse:backports_sle:15.0:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 15.0 sp1 | Vulnerable | openSUSE |
| cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 15.1 | Vulnerable | openSUSE |
- cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.1.0 – 4.3.0 Vulnerable ·PowerDNS
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 31 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 32 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:a:opensuse:backports_sle:15.0:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 15.0 sp1 Vulnerable ·openSUSE
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 15.1 Vulnerable ·openSUSE
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-10995
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g5gv-j2x8-cxr2
References
Sources
- CVE-2020-10995 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-10995 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-g5gv-j2x8-cxr2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-10995 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences