CVE-2022-0667 in BIND
Summary
by MITRE • 03/22/2022
When the vulnerability is triggered the BIND process will exit. BIND 9.18.0
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2026
The vulnerability in BIND 9.18.0 represents a critical denial of service condition that can cause the authoritative name server process to terminate unexpectedly when specific malformed DNS queries are processed. This flaw exists within the recursive query handling mechanism where the software fails to properly validate input data structures during query processing, leading to an abrupt process exit that disrupts DNS resolution services for all clients relying on the affected server. The issue stems from inadequate bounds checking and memory management practices in the DNS message parsing routines that handle various record types and query formats.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the BIND process encounters a specially crafted DNS query containing malformed resource record data or malformed packet structures that trigger an unhandled exception within the name resolution engine. The flaw manifests as a segmentation fault or similar memory access violation that causes the process to terminate without proper cleanup procedures, leaving the DNS service unavailable until manual intervention restores the service. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-248, which specifically addresses the exposure of an uninitialized exception handler, and represents a classic example of improper exception handling in network services.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on BIND as their primary authoritative DNS server implementation. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can affect multiple domains and services simultaneously, particularly in environments where DNS infrastructure is critical for business operations or where automatic failover mechanisms may not adequately address the complete service outage. The vulnerability affects systems running BIND 9.18.0 in both forward and reverse lookup scenarios, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that depend on comprehensive DNS resolution capabilities.
Security analysts should note that this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks through process termination. The exploitability factor is high since the vulnerability can be triggered remotely without authentication requirements, making it attractive to attackers seeking to disrupt network services. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including patching to the latest BIND version, implementing rate limiting mechanisms to prevent abuse, and deploying monitoring solutions that can detect sudden service outages or process terminations that may indicate exploitation attempts.
The recommended remediation strategy involves upgrading to BIND 9.18.1 or later versions where the vulnerability has been addressed through improved input validation procedures and enhanced error handling within the DNS message processing pipeline. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing defensive measures such as query rate limiting, source IP filtering, and comprehensive logging of DNS queries to detect anomalous patterns that may precede exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves strengthening the input validation routines to properly handle malformed packet structures and ensuring that all memory access operations are protected against invalid data inputs that could lead to process termination events.
Organizations should also consider implementing redundant DNS infrastructure with proper failover mechanisms to minimize the impact of such service disruptions, while maintaining detailed incident response procedures for handling DNS-related outages. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of thorough input validation in network services and highlights how seemingly minor implementation flaws can result in significant operational impacts that affect entire network infrastructures.