Memory amplification in Hickory DNS parser enables denial of service
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
Hickory DNS (hickory-proto) from 0.18 before 0.26.2 is affected. The DNS message parser preallocates record vectors sized by untrusted ANCOUNT, NSCOUNT and ARCOUNT header counts before reading record data (CWE-400). A remote attacker can send a UDP datagram, or a spoofed response to a client or resolver, with these counts set to 65535, forcing about 18MB of allocation per message.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-08
Description from the CNA
The DNS wire-format message parser in hickory-proto (Hickory DNS) 0.18 before 0.26.2 preallocates record vectors sized by the untrusted ANCOUNT, NSCOUNT, and ARCOUNT header fields before reading record data. Remote attackers can send a UDP datagram, or a spoofed response to a client/resolver, with these counts set to 65535, forcing about 18MB of allocation per message.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hickory-dns | hickory-dns | 0.18 to before 0.26.2 | 0.26.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- hickory-dns Vendorhickory-dns Affected 0.18 to before 0.26.2 Fixed in 0.26.2 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade hickory-proto to version 0.26.2, the fixed version for Hickory DNS.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-08
- Fix · CNA hickory-dns (hickory-dns) Fixed in 0.26.2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
hickory-dns 0.26.2
36 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 36 MEDIUM
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-86729 DNSSEC nonexistence forgery in Hickory DNS via wraparound NSECPriority MEDIUM 54
- TI-2026-86748 Resource exhaustion in hickory-dns recursor via glueless NS referralsPriority MEDIUM 53
- TI-2026-86747 DNSSEC validation bypass in Hickory DNS via RRSIG signer namePriority MEDIUM 53
Timeline
- 2026-11-08 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-123570
- 2026-11-08 Alias added: GHSA-6rvc-hrvg-mqf2
References
More hickory-dns vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-18857 DNSSEC validation may accept broken authentication chains CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.7
- TI-2026-86729 DNSSEC nonexistence forgery in Hickory DNS via wraparound NSEC CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-86750 CPU exhaustion in Hickory DNS hickory-proto via BinEncoder name compression CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-86749 Hickory DNS NSEC3 validation loop enables denial of service CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-86748 Resource exhaustion in hickory-dns recursor via glueless NS referrals CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-86747 DNSSEC validation bypass in Hickory DNS via RRSIG signer name CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-123570 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-123570 · NVD
- GHSA-6rvc-hrvg-mqf2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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