CVE-2020-8619Network attack vector

Service crash via asterisk empty non-terminal

Published Jun 17, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Denial of service in affected ISC BIND 9 releases allows remote authenticated users to crash named through crafted authoritative-zone data. An asterisk-labeled empty non-terminal can leave the DNS graph database inconsistent after a series of queries, causing an assertion in rbtdb.c to fail and the process to exit. The nameserver must serve the affected zone authoritatively, and exploitation requires permission to change that zone's content; the consequence is interruption of DNS service.

CVSS severity4.9
Medium
EPSS probability2.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in affected ISC BIND 9 releases allows remote authenticated users to crash named through crafted authoritative-zone data. An asterisk-labeled empty non-terminal can leave the DNS graph database inconsistent after a series of queries, causing an assertion in rbtdb.c to fail and the process to exit. The nameserver must serve the affected zone authoritatively, and exploitation requires permission to change that zone's content; the consequence is interruption of DNS service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-8619
Published
Jun 17, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Internet Systems Consortium
Product
BIND 9
Classifications
CWE-404, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 17, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=9.11.14-S1 through versions before 9.11.20-S1
  2. Affected versionversion=9.11.14 through versions before 9.11.20
  3. Affected versionversion=9.14.9 through versions 9.14.12
  4. Affected versionversion=9.16.0 through versions before 9.16.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Internet Systems Consortium · BIND 9version=9.11.14-S1 through versions before 9.11.20-S1; version=9.11.14 through versions before 9.11.20; version=9.14.9 through versions 9.14.12; version=9.16.0 through versions before 9.16.4

Published CVSS scores

4.9Internet Systems Consortium (ISC)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-404Improper Resource Shutdown or Release
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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