CVE-2026-12969
Dnsmasq: dnsmasq: out-of-bounds read in find_soa() due to missing extrabytes validation
Description
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in dnsmasq's find_soa() function in src/rfc1035.c. When parsing NS section records, extract_name() is called with extrabytes=0, failing to validate that 10 additional bytes exist for fixed-length DNS record fields. A remote attacker controlling a DNS zone can exploit this via a crafted NXDOMAIN response to cause a 10-byte heap out-of-bounds read, potentially accessing stale data from prior transactions.
INFO
Published Date :
June 23, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 8, 2026, 3:10 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-12969
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | 53f830b8-0a3f-465b-8143-3b8a9948e749 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update dnsmasq to the latest version.
- Apply vendor patches for dnsmasq.
- Monitor DNS traffic for suspicious responses.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-12969.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12969 | Vendor Advisory Mitigation |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2491663 | Issue Tracking Vendor Advisory |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-12969 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-12969
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-12969 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-12969 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jul. 08, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:thekelleys:dnsmasq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 2.93 Added Reference Type Red Hat, Inc.: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12969 Types: Mitigation, Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type Red Hat, Inc.: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2491663 Types: Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 23, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-12969', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-23T15:02:23.863843Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jun. 23, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10', 'packageName': 'dnsmasq', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6', 'packageName': 'dnsmasq', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7', 'packageName': 'dnsmasq', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8', 'packageName': 'dnsmasq', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9', 'packageName': 'dnsmasq', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4', 'packageName': 'rhcos', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in dnsmasq's find_soa() function in src/rfc1035.c. When parsing NS section records, extract_name() is called with extrabytes=0, failing to validate that 10 additional bytes exist for fixed-length DNS record fields. A remote attacker controlling a DNS zone can exploit this via a crafted NXDOMAIN response to cause a 10-byte heap out-of-bounds read, potentially accessing stale data from prior transactions. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Added CWE CWE-125 Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12969 Added Reference https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2491663