DNS service crash via invalid class handling
Published May 20, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026
Assertion failures in named in ISC BIND 9 allow remote attackers to crash the DNS service via crafted DNS messages. Its recursion, UPDATE, NOTIFY, and record-processing paths mishandle non-IN classes or question meta-classes, reaching assertions instead of rejecting incompatible input. Both authoritative servers and resolvers are affected when crafted messages reach these paths; exposure depends on zone classes, update access, and DNS reachability.
Summary
What happened
Assertion failures in named in ISC BIND 9 allow remote attackers to crash the DNS service via crafted DNS messages. Its recursion, UPDATE, NOTIFY, and record-processing paths mishandle non-IN classes or question meta-classes, reaching assertions instead of rejecting incompatible input. Both authoritative servers and resolvers are affected when crafted messages reach these paths; exposure depends on zone classes, update access, and DNS reachability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-5946
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 17, 2026
- Vendor
- libuser Project
- Product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support
- Classifications
- CWE-754, CWE-125, CWE-843, CWE-617, CWE-20, CWE-1287, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 17, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Affected versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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