CVE-2026-44687
Off-by-one error in 'harden-below-nxdomain' logic can shadow a stub/forward zone by a legitimate parent's NXDOMAIN
Description
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.13.2 up to and including 1.25.1, stub or forward zones where the name is below an intermediate labed below a DNSSEC signed zone could be shadowed by the intermediate label's secure NXDOMAIN answer from the parent. This is caused by an off-by-one error in 'harden-below-nxdomain' logic; enabled by default. It effectively bypasses the configuration and the configured stub/forward zone is never contacted. 'harden-below-nxdomain' does an upward DNS cache walk together with a delegation point guard that does not allow NXDOMAIN synthesis above stub/forward zones. The guard tests the domain name but before stripping a label. This results in an iteration where the domain name equals the configured stub/forward zone apex that passes the guard, strips one more label, and probes the cache at the apex's immediate public parent. If that parent has a cached DNSSEC-secure NXDOMAIN, which it will for any private namespace nested two or more labels under a signed public name, the walk returns it and the configured stub/forward upstream is never contacted. This can only be triggered by the query for the intermediate label (between the stub/forward apex and the DNSSEC parent zone).
INFO
Published Date :
July 22, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 22, 2026, 8:33 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | 206fc3a0-e175-490b-9eaa-a5738056c9f6 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update Unbound to version 1.26.0 or later.
- Verify harden-below-nxdomain configuration.
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-2026-44687.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-44687.txt |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-44687 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-2026-44687
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-2026-44687 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-44687 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.
-
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jul. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-44687', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-07-22T14:19:38.843549Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'NLnet Labs', 'product': 'Unbound', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '1.13.2', 'lessThan': '1.25.2', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.13.2 up to and including 1.25.1, stub or forward zones where the name is below an intermediate labed below a DNSSEC signed zone could be shadowed by the intermediate label's secure NXDOMAIN answer from the parent. This is caused by an off-by-one error in 'harden-below-nxdomain' logic; enabled by default. It effectively bypasses the configuration and the configured stub/forward zone is never contacted. 'harden-below-nxdomain' does an upward DNS cache walk together with a delegation point guard that does not allow NXDOMAIN synthesis above stub/forward zones. The guard tests the domain name but before stripping a label. This results in an iteration where the domain name equals the configured stub/forward zone apex that passes the guard, strips one more label, and probes the cache at the apex's immediate public parent. If that parent has a cached DNSSEC-secure NXDOMAIN, which it will for any private namespace nested two or more labels under a signed public name, the walk returns it and the configured stub/forward upstream is never contacted. This can only be triggered by the query for the intermediate label (between the stub/forward apex and the DNSSEC parent zone). Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Added CWE CWE-193 Added Reference https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-44687.txt