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TI-2026-56539 Aliases CVE-2026-81928GHSA-x88w-xx7m-3m5f

Uncontrolled recursion in Net-DNS

Priority MEDIUM 40CWE-674Published · Updated

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
Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 2 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-674.

Summary

Net::DNS versions before 1.57 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded recursion in sig_data when re-encoding a message with a misplaced TSIG record. sig_data signs a message by re-encoding it, and removes TSIG records only from the additional section. A TSIG decoded into the answer or authority section survives that step and is signed again, so encoding re-enters sig_data with no termination condition. Decoding does not reject such a message: a TSIG that is not the last record on the wire raises "misplaced or corrupt TSIG", but the error is caught, reported as a warning, and the record is left in the packet. RFC 8945 section 5.2 requires the message to be dropped. The recursion is reached only when the decoded TSIG carries an empty MAC, since a MAC recovered from the wire short-circuits the signing step. It is reached only from code that re-encodes a message it decoded, such as a forwarder or a proxy. A decoded message that is never re-encoded is unaffected. Message direction does not matter: a query reaches the same path as a response. Each cycle re-encodes the whole message, so fewer than 100 bytes on the wire exhaust available memory and terminate the process.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00684 52nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Net-DNS: 1.57Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 3 fixed, 2 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
Yes
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
—Net-DNSbefore 1.571.57Patch availableCNA
  • Net-DNS Vendor— Affected before 1.57 Fixed in 1.57 Patch available CNA

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Net-DNS Fixed in 1.57

Red Hat 2 advisories

  • RHSA-2026:68786 Released 2026-09-18 · Red Hat rating Important
    perl-Net-DNS security update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) perl-Net-DNS-1.29-6.el9_8.1
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) perl-Net-DNS-Nameserver-1.29-6.el9_8.1
  • RHSA-2026:68787 Released 2026-09-18 · Red Hat rating Important
    perl-Net-DNS security update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) perl-Net-DNS-1.15-2.el8_10

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2026:68787
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2026:68786
Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2026:68786

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-81928
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x88w-xx7m-3m5f
  3. 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile

References

Sources