CVE-2025-59024VulnerabilityPublished 9 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-59024: PowerDNS Recursor · Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity

Affects PowerDNS RecursorSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 5.3.1 : update PowerDNS Recursor when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.3.1, 5.2.6, 5.1.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Recursor and pdns-recursor to 5.3.1, 5.2.6 or 5.1.8.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PowerDNSRecursor	Affected >=5.3.0 <5.3.1 >=5.2.0 <5.2.6 >=5.1.0 <5.1.8	Fixed in 5.3.1 5.2.6 5.1.8
GitHubpdns-recursor`pkg:github/pdns-recursor`Other threats	Affected >=5.3.0 <5.3.1 >=5.2.0 <5.2.6 >=5.1.0 <5.1.8	Fixed in 5.3.1 5.2.6 5.1.8

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-59024, European organizations should prioritize the following actions: 1) Monitor PowerDNS vendor communications closely and apply security patches promptly once released, as no patches were linked at the time of disclosure. 2) Implement network-level filtering to block or scrutinize fragmented IP packets, which are used in the exploitation vector, using firewalls or intrusion prevention systems configured to detect suspicious fragmentation patterns. 3) Employ DNSSEC validation on recursive resolvers to ensure authenticity and integrity of DNS data, mitigating the impact of cache poisoning attacks. 4) Restrict network access to DNS resolvers to trusted clients and networks, reducing exposure to remote attackers. 5) Conduct regular DNS traffic analysis and anomaly detection to identify unusual delegation changes or cache poisoning attempts. 6) Consider deploying additional DNS security solutions such as response rate limiting and query logging to enhance detection and response capabilities. 7) Educate network and security teams about the specific nature of this vulnerability to ensure rapid incident response if exploitation is suspected.

Description

Crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations in Recursor.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-59024 can be substantial, particularly for those relying on PowerDNS Recursor for internal or external DNS resolution. Successful exploitation can lead to DNS cache poisoning, which compromises the integrity of DNS responses. This can redirect users or systems to malicious sites, enabling phishing, malware distribution, or man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, it can cause denial of service by poisoning delegations with invalid data, disrupting access to critical services. Given the essential role of DNS in network operations, such disruptions can affect business continuity, data integrity, and trust in IT systems. Critical infrastructure sectors such as finance, telecommunications, and government services in Europe could be targeted due to their reliance on robust DNS infrastructure. The medium severity rating reflects that while confidentiality is not directly impacted, the integrity and availability of DNS services are at risk, which can have cascading effects on dependent applications and services.

References

docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2025-06.html (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 9 Feb 2026, 15:31 UTC

Technical details

References

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