PowerDNS Recursor up to 4.8.0 DS Record recursion

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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5.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in PowerDNS Recursor up to 4.8.0. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component DS Record Handler. Performing a manipulation results in recursion. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-22617. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in PowerDNS Recursor up to 4.8.0 (Domain Name Software). This affects an unknown function of the component DS Record Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a recursion vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-674. The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

A remote attacker might be able to cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 via a DNS query that retrieves DS records for a misconfigured domain, because QName minimization is used in QM fallback mode. This is fixed in 4.8.1.

The weakness was published 01/22/2023. It is possible to read the advisory at openwall.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-22617 since 01/04/2023. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 4.8.1 eliminates this vulnerability. The upgrade is hosted for download at docs.powerdns.com.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-26753). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.8

VulDB Base Score: 4.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Recursion
CWE: CWE-674 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Recursor 4.8.1

Timelineinfo

01/04/2023 🔍
01/22/2023 +18 days 🔍
01/22/2023 +0 days 🔍
10/01/2025 +983 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: openwall.com
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2023-22617 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-22617
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-219135
EUVD: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 01/22/2023 08:25
Updated: 10/01/2025 16:49
Changes: 01/22/2023 08:25 (42), 02/18/2023 09:49 (11), 10/01/2025 16:49 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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