Retrap: Novel Vulnerabilities to launch Algorithmic Complexity Attacks on DNSSEC (NLnet Labs Unbound)
At a glance
- Source
- NVD
- EPSS
- EPSS 0.48 % · percentile 42 ()
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Published
- Updated
- Assigner
- NLnet Labs
- NVD status
- Analyzed
Description
Novel vulnerabilities to launch algorithmic complexity attacks on DNSSEC have been researched under the term 'ReTrap'. These result in degradation of service when malicious zones are used to serve the algorithmic complexity vulnerabilities. NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0 is vulnerable to some of them. TagTrap, where the triple(Zone, Algo, KeyTag) matching mechanism introduces a significant attack vector when resolvers handle malicious responses containing numerous mismatched DNSKEY, RRSIG, and DS record. DelegationTrap, where constructing the chain-of-trust requires iterative validation of DNSKEY and DS records from the root zone downward. For deeply nested domains, this results in significant computational overhead. NsecTrap, where responses with excessive invalid NSEC records compel the resolver to validate each one. AdditionalTrap, where Unbound by default would try to DNSSEC validate the ADDITIONAL section as well. This can be exploited to waste validation resources by malicious users.
Weaknesses (CWE)
- CWE-770 — Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
References
Scores
| Version | Score | Vector | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L | NLnet Labs |
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM 5.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L | NVD · sep@nlnetlabs.nl (Secondary) |
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH 7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H | NVD · nvd@nist.gov (Primary) |
European references
- ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-80294
- GCVE · GCVE-0-2026-85501
Affected configurations (NVD CPE)
cpe:2.3:a:nlnetlabs:unbound:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*< 1.26.1
Affected products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| NLnet Labs · Unbound | affected 0 < 1.26.1 |
Sources
| Source | Licence |
|---|---|
| CVE List (CVEProject cvelistV5) | CVE Program Terms of Use |
| EPSS (FIRST.org) | FIRST — attribution requested |
| ENISA EUVD | ENISA — reproduction authorised, source acknowledged |
| NVD (NIST) via fkie-cad/nvd-json-data-feeds | Public domain — this product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD |