// For flags

CVE-2025-11411

Possible domain hijacking via promiscuous records in the authority section

Severity Score

5.7
*CVSS v4

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

0
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

Track
*SSVC
Descriptions

NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including version 1.24.0 is vulnerable to possible domain hijack attacks. Promiscuous NS RRSets that complement positive DNS replies in the authority section can be used to trick resolvers to update their delegation information for the zone. Usually these RRSets are used to update the resolver's knowledge of the zone's name servers. A malicious actor can exploit the possible poisonous effect by injecting NS RRSets (and possibly their respective address records) in a reply. This could be done for example by trying to spoof a packet or fragmentation attacks. Unbound would then proceed to update the NS RRSet data it already has since the new data has enough trust for it, i.e., in-zone data for the delegation point. Unbound 1.24.1 includes a fix that scrubs unsolicited NS RRSets (and their respective address records) from replies mitigating the possible poison effect.

NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including version 1.24.1 is vulnerable to possible domain hijack attacks. Promiscuous NS RRSets that complement positive DNS replies in the authority section can be used to trick resolvers to update their delegation information for the zone. Usually these RRSets are used to update the resolver's knowledge of the zone's name servers. A malicious actor can exploit the possible poisonous effect by injecting NS RRSets (and possibly their respective address records) in a reply. This could be done for example by trying to spoof a packet or fragmentation attacks. Unbound would then proceed to update the NS RRSet data it already has since the new data has enough trust for it, i.e., in-zone data for the delegation point. Unbound 1.24.1 includes a fix that scrubs unsolicited NS RRSets (and their respective address records) from replies mitigating the possible poison effect. Unbound 1.24.2 includes an additional fix that scrubs unsolicited NS RRSets (and their respective address records) from YXDOMAIN and non-referral nodata replies, further mitigating the possible poison effect.

NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including version 1.24.2 is vulnerable to possible domain hijack attacks. Promiscuous NS RRSets that complement positive DNS replies in the authority section can be used to trick resolvers to update their delegation information for the zone. Usually these RRSets are used to update the resolver's knowledge of the zone's name servers. A malicious actor can exploit the possible poisonous effect by injecting NS RRSets (and possibly their respective address records) in a reply. This could be done for example by trying to spoof a packet or fragmentation attacks. Unbound would then proceed to update the NS RRSet data it already has since the new data has enough trust for it, i.e., in-zone data for the delegation point. Unbound 1.24.1 includes a fix that scrubs unsolicited NS RRSets (and their respective address records) from replies mitigating the possible poison effect. Unbound 1.24.2 includes an additional fix that scrubs unsolicited NS RRSets (and their respective address records) from YXDOMAIN and non-referral nodata replies, further mitigating the possible poison effect.

Promiscuous NS RRSets that complement DNS replies in the authority section can be used to trick resolvers to update their delegation information for the zone. Usually these RRSets are used to update the resolver's knowledge of the zone's name servers. If a malicious actor is able to attach such records in a reply they would be able to poison Unbound's cache for the delegation point.

*Credits: Yuxiao Wu (Tsinghua University), Yunyi Zhang (Tsinghua University), Baojun Liu (Tsinghua University), Haixin Duan (Tsinghua University), TaoFei Guo (Peking University), Yang Luo (Tsinghua University), JianJun Chen (Tsinghua University)
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Adjacent
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
System
Vulnerable | Subsequent
Confidentiality
None
None
Integrity
High
High
Availability
None
High
Attack Vector
Adjacent
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
Low
Attack Vector
Adjacent
Attack Complexity
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Partial
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:Track
Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Tech. Impact
Partial
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2025-10-07 CVE Reserved
  • 2025-10-22 CVE Published
  • 2025-12-05 CVE Updated
  • 2026-03-22 EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
  • ---------- First Exploit
CWE
  • CWE-349: Acceptance of Extraneous Untrusted Data With Trusted Data
CAPEC
References (1)
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
NLnet Labs
Search vendor "NLnet Labs"
Unbound
Search vendor "NLnet Labs" for product "Unbound"
<= 1.24.1
Search vendor "NLnet Labs" for product "Unbound" and version " <= 1.24.1"
en
Affected