Hanging RRDP request
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
In NLnet Labs Routinator prior to 0.10.2, a validation run can be delayed significantly by an RRDP repository by not answering but slowly drip-feeding bytes to keep the connection alive. This can be used to effectively stall validation. While Routinator has a configurable time-out value for RRDP connections, this time-out was only applied to individual read or write operations rather than the complete request. Thus, if an RRDP repository sends a little bit of data before that time-out expired, it can continuously extend the time it takes for the request to finish. Since validation will only continue once the update of an RRDP repository has concluded, this delay will cause validation to stall, leading to Routinator continuing to serve the old data set or, if in the initial validation run directly after starting, never serve any data at all.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLnet Labs | Routinator | up to 0.10.1 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Routinator VendorNLnet Labs Affected up to 0.10.1 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-43173
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pgwq-8wjv-xhhr
References
More NLnet Labs vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-25690 Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-56302 Heap buffer overflow and possible Remote Code Execution when digesting DNSKEY CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-31146 Crash during DNSSEC validation of malicious content CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-31135 Heap overflow with multiple NSID, COOKIE, PADDING EDNS options CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-36436 Routinator crashes on specifically crafted RRDP XML files CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-36433 Routinator exits when accepting an incoming HTTP or RTR connection fails CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2021-43173 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-43173 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pgwq-8wjv-xhhr · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences