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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-123606: hickory-recursor · Recursor Followed Every Glueless Name Server

Affects hickory-recursorSource GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-123606· High 8.7

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High · fixed in 0.26.2 : patch hickory-recursor soon.

Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 15:36 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
8.7High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (VulnCheck)CVSS 4.08.7
CNA (VulnCheck)CVSS 3.17.5
CNACVSS 4.08.7
Patch
Available – fixed in 0.26.2
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 8 Nov 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 12 Nov 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
crates.iohickory-recursorpkg:cargo/hickory-recursorOther threatsAffected
  • >=0.25.0-alpha.3
Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Users should upgrade from hickory-recursor to hickory-resolver version 0.26.2 or later with the recursor feature enabled, as this version contains the fix for the vulnerability. No fixed release exists for hickory-recursor, so migration to hickory-resolver is necessary. There is no indication that other mitigations or workarounds are available or required.

Description

A vulnerability in hickory-recursor versions from 0.25.0-alpha.3 onward allows an attacker controlling a DNS zone to cause the recursor to resolve every glueless name server in a referral without limits. This can lead to a large volume of queries being sent to victim servers (NXNSAttack pattern) or exhaustion of the recursor's resources. The recursor functionality moved to hickory-resolver starting with version 0.26.0-beta.1, and a fix is available in hickory-resolver 0.26.2. No hickory-recursor release contains a fix, so users should upgrade to hickory-resolver 0.26.2 or later with the recursor feature enabled.

References

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