CVE-2026-123602
Hickory DNS Recursor Ghost Domain Attack via Child-Side NS RRset Caching
The Hickory DNS recursor in all versions of hickory-recursor and in hickory-resolver 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 (recursor feature) is vulnerable to ghost domain names attacks because it reuses child-side apex NS RRsets cached from zone NS queries for iterative resolution. By repeatedly querying a zone's NS records, an attacker keeps the stale RRset cached indefinitely, letting name servers whose delegation the parent revoked keep answering for the zone.
Fixes and workarounds
No remediation reported in collected sources.
Missing remediation information is not evidence that no patch exists.
Affected products and versions
| Product | Versions | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| hickory-dns hickory-dns hickory-recursor
cargo |
≥ 0; ≤ 0.26.0-alpha.1 (affected, semver)
Other versions: unaffected |
CNA: VulnCheck |
| hickory-dns hickory-dns hickory-resolver
cargo |
≥ 0.26.0-beta.1; < 0.26.2 (affected, semver) 0.26.2 (unaffected, semver) Other versions: unaffected |
CNA: VulnCheck |
Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.
CVSS assessments
| Version / score | Vector | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0 / 8.2 high |
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N | CNA: VulnCheck |
| 3.1 / 5.9 medium |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N | CNA: VulnCheck |
Exploit evidence
No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.
References
- https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns/security/advisories/GHSA-2hxp-x833-73f7CNA: VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hickory-dns-recursor-ghost-domain-attack-via-child-side-ns-rrset-cachingCNA: VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
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