CVE-2026-42960 — Possible cache poisoning via promiscuous records for the authority section
NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including version 1.25.0 is vulnerable to poisoning via promiscuous records for the authority section. Promiscuous RRSets that complement DNS replies in the authority section can be used to trick Unbound to cache such records. If an adversary is able to attach such records in a reply (i.e., spoofed packet, fragmentation attack) he would be able to poison Unbound's cache. A malicious actor can exploit the possible poisonous effect by injecting RRSets other than NS that are also accompanied by address records in a reply, for example MX. This could be achieved by trying to spoof a reply packet or fragmentation attacks. Unbound would then accept the relative address records in the additional section and cache them if the authority RRSet has enough trust at this point, i.e., in-zone data for the delegation point. Unbound 1.25.1 contains a patch with a fix that disregards address records from the additional section if they are not explicitly relevant only to authority NS records, mitigating the possible poison effect. This is a complement fix to CVE-2025-11411.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
- Technical severity (critical)+10
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented mitigation — www.nlnetlabs.nl (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Nlnetlabs Unbound).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | sep@nlnetlabs.nl via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.7 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | NLnet Labs via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 10.0 | CVSS 3.1 | Critical | 3.9 | 5.8 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.27%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · nlnet labs/unbound
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 10.0
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
1 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-85501 Retrap: Novel Vulnerabilities to launch Algorithmic Complexity Attacks on DNSSEC 29d
- High CVE-2026-80225 Possible degradation of service from continuous queries on the same TCP/DoT connection 29d
- High CVE-2026-81634 Possible heap buffer overflow during DNSSEC canonicalization 29d
- Critical CVE-2026-81642 Heap buffer overflow and possible Remote Code Execution when digesting DNSKEY 29d
- Medium CVE-2026-82720 Use-after-free in DoH stream cleanup code path 29d
- Critical CVE-2026-82717 CNAME synthesis could lead to heap corruption 29d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-42960 is "Possible cache poisoning via promiscuous records for the authority section", rated Critical. It affects Unbound (Nlnetlabs); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 10.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.27% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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