CVE-2026-33261: Missing Support for Integrity Check in PowerDNS Recursor
CVE-2026-33261 is a medium severity vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor versions 5. 2. 0, 5. 3. 0, and 5. 4. 0. It involves a missing support for integrity checks during a zone transition from NSEC to NSEC3, which can cause an internal inconsistency leading to a denial of service (DoS). The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability. There is no known exploit in the wild and no official patch or remediation guidance has been provided yet.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor arises when transitioning DNS zones from NSEC to NSEC3, triggering an internal inconsistency that results in a denial of service condition. The issue is due to missing support for integrity checks during this transition. Affected versions include 5.2.0, 5.3.0, and 5.4.0. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.9, reflecting a network attack vector with high attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and impact limited to availability.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability can cause a denial of service by crashing or destabilizing the PowerDNS Recursor during specific zone transitions. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits have been reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, consider avoiding zone transitions from NSEC to NSEC3 on affected versions or deploying additional DNS infrastructure to mitigate potential service disruption.
CVE-2026-33261: Missing Support for Integrity Check in PowerDNS Recursor
Description
CVE-2026-33261 is a medium severity vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor versions 5. 2. 0, 5. 3. 0, and 5. 4. 0. It involves a missing support for integrity checks during a zone transition from NSEC to NSEC3, which can cause an internal inconsistency leading to a denial of service (DoS). The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability. There is no known exploit in the wild and no official patch or remediation guidance has been provided yet.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.9medium
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor arises when transitioning DNS zones from NSEC to NSEC3, triggering an internal inconsistency that results in a denial of service condition. The issue is due to missing support for integrity checks during this transition. Affected versions include 5.2.0, 5.3.0, and 5.4.0. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.9, reflecting a network attack vector with high attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and impact limited to availability.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability can cause a denial of service by crashing or destabilizing the PowerDNS Recursor during specific zone transitions. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits have been reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, consider avoiding zone transitions from NSEC to NSEC3 on affected versions or deploying additional DNS infrastructure to mitigate potential service disruption.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- OX
- Date Reserved
- 2026-03-18T10:06:16.573Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 69e89fe619fe3cd2cd8f5f51
Added to database: 4/22/2026, 10:16:06 AM
Last enriched: 4/29/2026, 11:10:56 AM
Last updated: 6/6/2026, 3:06:42 PM
Views: 62
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