NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.26.1, has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-QUIC support with '--with-libngtcp2'. Each DoQ stream owns an output buffer that holds the DNS response. ngtcp2's retransmission buffer keeps a shallow pointer into the output buffer for as long as a STREAM frame may be resent. On a client RESET_STREAM, the output buffer is freed but ngtcp2 still holds the matching retransmission entries. The next PTO timeout makes ngtcp2 re-encode the STREAM frame and copy from the freed buffer. A malicious actor that can query Unbound over DoQ and that withholds ACKs, sends RESET_STREAM, and waits for PTO, reaches this use-after-free with no privilege. This leads to retransmissions against freed memory and eventually an abnormal server exit under a 20-query spray.
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Advisories
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Fixes
Solution
This issue is fixed starting with version 1.26.1
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.26.1, has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-QUIC support with '--with-libngtcp2'. Each DoQ stream owns an output buffer that holds the DNS response. ngtcp2's retransmission buffer keeps a shallow pointer into the output buffer for as long as a STREAM frame may be resent. On a client RESET_STREAM, the output buffer is freed but ngtcp2 still holds the matching retransmission entries. The next PTO timeout makes ngtcp2 re-encode the STREAM frame and copy from the freed buffer. A malicious actor that can query Unbound over DoQ and that withholds ACKs, sends RESET_STREAM, and waits for PTO, reaches this use-after-free with no privilege. This leads to retransmissions against freed memory and eventually an abnormal server exit under a 20-query spray. | |
| Title | Use-after-free in DoQ stream output buffer on reset re-transmission | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-416 | |
| References |
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| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: NLnet Labs
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-16T08:29:52.342Z
Reserved: 2026-09-07T14:06:21.963Z
Link: CVE-2026-78227
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Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-16T09:17:05.987
Modified: 2026-09-16T09:17:05.987
Link: CVE-2026-78227
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OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses