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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-81634: NLnet Labs Unbound · Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Affects NLnet Labs UnboundSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 1.26.1 soon.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 08:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.5High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 1.26.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 16 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 30 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade NLnet Labs Unbound to 1.26.1.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
NLnet LabsUnboundAffected
  • <1.26.1
Fixed in
  • 1.26.1

AI-suggested

A fix is available in Unbound version 1.26.1. Users should upgrade to version 1.26.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability. No other mitigation guidance is provided by the vendor advisory.

Description

In NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0, a 255 length query name with a large TCP response can lead to a heap buffer overflow during the RRSet canonicalisation routine. This is caused by missing to add the first owner name into the buffer length check. A malicious actor operating a malicious name server or tampering with an incoming response to Unbound (canonicalisation happens before DNSSEC validation), can trigger the vulnerability.

References

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