CVE-2026-33278

Published May 20, 2026

Last updated 10 days ago

Overview

Description
NLnet Labs Unbound 1.19.1 up to and including version 1.25.0 has a vulnerability in the DNSSEC validator that enables denial of service and possible remote code execution as a result of deep copying a data structure and erroneously overwriting a destination pointer. An adversary can exploit the vulnerability by controlling a malicious signed zone and querying a vulnerable Unbound. When DS sub-queries need to suspend validation due to NSEC3 computational budget exhaustion (introduced in Unbound 1.19.1), Unbound deep-copies response messages to preserve them across memory region teardown. A struct-assignment bug overwrites the destination's pointer with the source's pointer. After the sub-query region is freed, the resumed validator dereferences this dangling pointer, triggering a crash or potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. Unbound 1.25.1 contains a patch with a fix to preserve the correct pointer when deep copying the data structure.
Source
sep@nlnetlabs.nl
NVD status
Analyzed
Products
unbound

Risk scores

CVSS 4.0

Type
Secondary
Base score
9.1
Impact score
-
Exploitability score
-
Vector string
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Red
Severity
CRITICAL

CVSS 3.1

Type
Primary
Base score
9.8
Impact score
5.9
Exploitability score
3.9
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Severity
CRITICAL

Weaknesses

sep@nlnetlabs.nl
CWE-416

Social media

Hype score
Not currently trending
  1. Release 2026-05c is here! https://t.co/pprfCZtu6Q This update fixes CVE-2026-33278 in unbound and bumps Nginx to version 1.30.2. We strongly recommend updating to this version.

    @mailcow_email

    26 May 2026

    467 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    11 Likes

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  2. Warning: #NLnet Labs has addressed multiple vulnerabilities, #CVE-2026-33278; #CVE-2026-42944; #CVE-2026-42959. Successful exploitation could enable to denial of service #DoS, and potentially remote code execution #RCE! #Patch #Patch #Patch

    @CCBalert

    21 May 2026

    144 Impressions

    1 Retweet

    0 Likes

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  3. 🔐 NLnet Labs released Unbound 1.25.1 with fixes for 11 CVEs — including a use-after-free in the DNSSEC validator (CVE-2026-33278) that could lead to remote code execution, and a cache poisoning flaw (CVE-2026-42960). 🔗 https://t.co/UaH94aLG8Q #CyberSecurity #ThreatIntel

    @ThreatAft

    21 May 2026

    56 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    0 Likes

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  4. Top 5 Trending CVEs: 1 - CVE-2026-42945 2 - CVE-2026-46333 3 - CVE-2026-0265 4 - CVE-2020-2033 5 - CVE-2026-33278 #cve #cvetrends #cveshield #cybersecurity https://t.co/4Fua3CAN6W

    @CVEShield

    21 May 2026

    145 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    1 Like

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  5. BREAKING: Ubuntu fixes 5 Unbound flaws including CVE-2026-32792 and CVE-2026-33278 affecting 22.04, 24.04, 25.10, 26.04 LTS with DoS and RCE risk, urges immediate updates. https://t.co/YG4fcAvfhs

    @threatcluster

    20 May 2026

    77 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    0 Likes

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  6. 【自分用メモ】CVE-2026-33278。UnboundのRCE脆弱性。CVSSスコア9.1。エグい。 https://t.co/JDWh34CDyH CVE Record: CVE-2026-33278 https://t.co/Jj6kKshdSn

    @OrangeMorishita

    20 May 2026

    1820 Impressions

    9 Retweets

    16 Likes

    6 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    1 Quote

  7. Unbound 1.25.1 fixes 11 CVEs https://t.co/ifcflXyhiP CVE-2026-33278: Remote code execution during DNSSEC validation CVE-2026-42944: Heap overflow and crash with multiple nsid, cookie, padding EDNS options CVE-2026-42959: Crash during DNSSEC validation of malicious content +8 more

    @oss_security

    20 May 2026

    1604 Impressions

    6 Retweets

    17 Likes

    5 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

Configurations

References

Sources include official advisories and independent security research.