VulnerabilityPublished 3 Sep 2026Updated 12 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-123581: DNSSEC validation accepted an unrelated signed RRset as the answer (hickory-proto)

Affects hickory-protoSource GCVE Database

Compare

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-123581· Medium 6.9

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.9 Medium : upgrade to 0.26.0-beta.1 when convenient.

Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 15:47 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

6.9Medium

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

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (VulnCheck)	CVSS 4.0	6.9
CNA (VulnCheck)	CVSS 3.1	5.3
CNA	CVSS 4.0	6.9

Patch: Available – fixed in 0.26.0-beta.1

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, 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: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 8 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 12 Nov 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

Upgrade hickory-proto to 0.26.0-beta.1.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
crates.iohickory-proto`pkg:cargo/hickory-proto`Other threats	Affected >=0.0.0-0 <0.26.0-beta.1	Fixed in 0.26.0-beta.1

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

AI-suggested

A patch is available in hickory-net version 0.26.2, which corrects the DNSSEC validation logic. Users of hickory-proto should upgrade to version 0.26.0-beta.1 or later, which uses the fixed hickory-net crate. No other mitigation is required as the fix addresses the root cause.

Description

A vulnerability in hickory-proto up to version 0.26.0-alpha.1 causes DNSSEC validation to incorrectly accept a signed RRset from a DNS response even if it does not match the queried name and type. This allows an attacker who can modify DNS responses to provide a valid signed RRset for a different name or type, which is mistakenly accepted as a valid answer. The issue was fixed by moving DNSSEC validation to the hickory-net crate and correcting the validation logic in hickory-net 0.26.2. Users relying on DNSSEC validation in older hickory-proto versions should upgrade to 0.26.0-beta.1 or later where the fix is included.

Impact

An attacker who can intercept or modify DNS responses can cause a client using vulnerable versions of hickory-proto to accept a signed DNS record that does not correspond to the original query. This undermines the integrity of DNSSEC validation, potentially leading to incorrect DNS resolution based on unrelated signed data. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or availability but affects the integrity of DNS responses.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Nov 2026, 15:47 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats