VulnerabilityPublished 9 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-24027: PowerDNS Recursor · Network Amplification

Affects PowerDNS RecursorSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium · fixed in 5.3.5 : update PowerDNS Recursor when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 38% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.3.5, 5.2.8, 5.1.10

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
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: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 5.3.5, 5.2.8 or 5.1.10.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PowerDNSRecursor	Affected >=5.3.0 <5.3.5	Fixed in 5.3.5
PowerDNSRecursor	Affected >=5.2.0 <5.2.8	Fixed in 5.2.8
PowerDNSRecursor	Affected >=5.1.0 <5.1.10	Fixed in 5.1.10
GitHubpdns-recursor`pkg:github/pdns-recursor`Other threats	Affected >=5.3.0 <5.3.5 >=5.2.0 <5.2.8 >=5.1.0 <5.1.10	Fixed in 5.3.5 5.2.8 5.1.10

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

AI-suggested

Organizations should monitor PowerDNS Recursor deployments and verify if affected versions (5.1.0, 5.2.0, 5.3.0) are in use. 2) Implementing network-level rate limiting and traffic shaping to detect and throttle abnormal DNS query volumes that could indicate amplification attempts. 3) Deploying DNS response rate limiting (RRL) features if supported by PowerDNS or upstream network devices to reduce amplification potential. 4) Monitoring DNS traffic patterns for unusual spikes or crafted zone queries indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Employing upstream filtering and ingress/egress controls to block spoofed or malicious traffic sources. 6) Engaging with ISPs and security vendors to share threat intelligence and coordinate defensive measures. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on traffic control and proactive monitoring tailored to the amplification nature of this vulnerability.

Description

Crafted zones can lead to increased incoming network traffic.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2026-24027 is the potential degradation or denial of DNS resolution services due to network amplification attacks. DNS is critical infrastructure for internet connectivity and service availability; disruption can affect web services, email, and internal network operations. Amplification attacks leveraging this vulnerability could increase traffic loads on DNS servers, causing outages or degraded performance. This is particularly impactful for ISPs, cloud providers, and enterprises hosting DNS infrastructure. Additionally, increased network traffic may lead to higher operational costs and complicate incident response. While confidentiality and integrity are not directly affected, the availability impact can cascade, affecting business continuity and user experience. European organizations with strict uptime requirements and regulatory obligations (e.g., GDPR mandates on service availability) may face compliance risks if DNS services are disrupted.

References

docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2026-01.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 9 Feb 2026, 15:00 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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