CVE-2017-15120
HighAn issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when parsing a specially crafted answer containing a CNAME of a different class than IN.
Published Jul 27, 2018 · Updated Aug 7, 2026 · Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2017-15120, DSA-4063-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-15120
Key Facts
Patch immediately- CVE-2017-15120 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 7.5 v3.1) affecting Recursor (Powerdns), Debian Linux, pdns-recursor (debian).
- It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog. No public exploit code is known.
- EPSS estimates a 51% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- Fixed versions are available, including pdns-recursor 4.0.4-1+deb9u3, pdns-recursor 4.0.5-6.1, pdns-recursor 4.1.0-1.
- Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is very likely to be exploited soon.
CVSS v3.1
7.5
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)
51%
Higher than 98.9% of all scored CVEs
Exploited in the wild
No known
Not in a known-exploited catalog
Public exploit code
None known
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Description
An issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when parsing a specially crafted answer containing a CNAME of a different class than IN. An unauthenticated remote attacker could cause a denial of service.
Affected Products
17 affected entries in total| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| RecursorPowerdns | See advisory | 4.0.8 |
| Debian LinuxDebian | 8.0, 9.0 | n/a |
| pdns-recursordebian | >= 4.0.8 | 4.1.0-1 |
Patched Releases
pdns-recursor
4.0.4-1+deb9u3, 4.0.5-6.1, 4.1.0-1
Recursor
4.0.8
Timeline
Publicly disclosed
Jul 27, 2018
Last updated
Aug 7, 2026
Weakness Type
- CWE-476 NULL Pointer Dereference
References
- advisoryhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2017-15120
- advisoryhttps://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-15120
- advisoryhttps://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-15120
- advisoryhttps://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15120
- advisoryDSA-4063
FAQ
Common Questions.
An issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when parsing a specially crafted answer containing a CNAME of a different class than IN.
Affected: Recursor (Powerdns); Debian Linux versions 8.0, 9.0; pdns-recursor (debian) versions >= 4.0.8. The full list is in the CVE brief.
It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog.
No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
No public exploit code is known.
Fixed versions are available, including pdns-recursor 4.0.4-1+deb9u3, pdns-recursor 4.0.5-6.1, pdns-recursor 4.1.0-1.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is very likely to be exploited soon.
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