VulnerabilityPublished 3 Sep 2026Updated 12 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-123581: Hickory net · DNSSEC validation accepted a validly signed but unrelated RRset as the answer

Affects hickory-netSource GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-123581· Medium 6.9

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.9 Medium : upgrade to 0.26.2 when convenient.

Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 15:36 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 0.26.2

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-net to 0.26.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
crates.iohickory-net`pkg:cargo/hickory-net`Other threats	Affected >=0.0.0-0 <0.26.2	Fixed in 0.26.2

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 and included in Hickory net version 0.26.2. Users should upgrade to version 0.26.2 or later to ensure DNSSEC validation correctly verifies that answer records match the query name and type or are CNAMEs. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying this official fix.

Description

A vulnerability in Hickory net's DNSSEC validation allows acceptance of a validly signed but unrelated DNS resource record set (RRset) as a valid answer to a DNS query. The flaw occurs because the validation process did not verify that the signed records matched the queried name and type or a CNAME. This could enable an attacker who can manipulate DNS responses to substitute a signed RRset for a different name or type, misleading the resolver. The issue affects versions prior to 0.26.2 and is fixed in version 0.26.2.

Impact

The vulnerability allows an attacker who can control or modify DNS responses to substitute a validly signed but unrelated DNS record set as the answer to a DNS query. This undermines DNSSEC's integrity guarantees by accepting incorrect data as valid, potentially leading to misinformation or redirection in DNS resolution. However, the CVSS score of 5.3 and the absence of known exploits in the wild indicate a medium severity impact with limited immediate exploitation evidence.

Summary

CVE-2026-123581 describes a DNSSEC validation flaw in Hickory net's `DnssecDnsHandle` when built with `dnssec-ring` or `dnssec-aws-lc-rs`. The validator accepted any validly signed RRset in the answer section without confirming that the RRset matched the query name and type or was a CNAME. This allowed an attacker capable of injecting or modifying DNS responses to provide a signed RRset unrelated to the query, which would be incorrectly accepted as a valid answer. The fix, implemented in version 0.26.2, enforces that at least one answer record must match the query name and be of the queried type or a CNAME, including checks on NSEC records.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Nov 2026, 15:36 UTC

Technical details

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