VulnerabilityPublished 20 May 2026

CVE-2026-5950: ISC BIND 9 · Unchecked Input for Loop Condition

Affects ISC BIND 9Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 51% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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 20 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
Public exploit code: GitHub proofs of concept
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), GitHub proofs of concept, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ISCBIND 9	Affected >=9.18.36 <=9.18.48 >=9.20.8 <=9.20.22 >=9.21.7 <=9.21.21 >=9.18.36-S1 <=9.18.48-S1 >=9.20.9-S1 <=9.20.22-S1	Fixed in–
GitHubisc/bind9`pkg:github/isc/bind9`Other threats	Affected 9.18.36 – 9.21.7 5 affected builds	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Until an official fix is released, consider implementing network-level protections such as rate limiting DNS queries or filtering suspicious traffic patterns that may trigger retry conditions. Monitor ISC advisories closely for updates.

Description

An unbounded resend loop vulnerability exists in the BIND 9 resolver state machine during bad-server handling, enabling a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause severe resource exhaustion by sending queries that trigger specific retry conditions. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.18.36 through 9.18.48, 9.20.8 through 9.20.22, 9.21.7 through 9.21.21, 9.18.36-S1 through 9.18.48-S1, and 9.20.9-S1 through 9.20.22-S1.

Impact

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause severe resource exhaustion on the affected BIND 9 resolver by triggering an unbounded resend loop. This impacts the availability of the DNS resolver service but does not affect confidentiality or integrity. There are no known exploits in the wild currently.

Summary

The vulnerability CVE-2026-5950 in ISC BIND 9 arises from improper validation of input controlling a loop condition in the resolver's state machine during handling of bad servers. Specifically, certain crafted DNS queries can trigger a resend loop that is unbounded, leading to resource exhaustion on the affected system. This affects multiple versions of BIND 9, including 9.18.36 through 9.18.48, 9.20.8 through 9.20.22, and 9.21.7 through 9.21.21, including some S1 variants. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3, reflecting a medium severity with network attack vector, no privileges or user interaction required, and impact limited to availability (resource exhaustion). The vendor has published the vulnerability but has not yet provided an official fix or remediation level. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-606 (Unchecked Input for Loop Condition).

CWE-606Unchecked Input for Loop Condition (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product does not properly check inputs that are used for loop conditions, potentially leading to a denial of service or other consequences because of excessive looping.
Implementation
Do not use user-controlled data for loop conditions.
Implementation
Perform input validation.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 May 2026, 13:36 UTC

Public exploits and detectionGitHub proofs of concept

WeaknessesCWE-606

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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