CVE-2022-30699

Novel "ghost domain names" attack by updating almost expired delegation information

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: August 1, 2022 at 02:13 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:44 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsFedoraUnbound

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%

Description

NLnet Labs Unbound, up to and including version 1.16.1, is vulnerable to a novel type of the "ghost domain names" attack. The vulnerability works by targeting an Unbound instance. Unbound is queried for a rogue domain name when the cached delegation information is about to expire. The rogue nameserver delays the response so that the cached delegation information is expired. Upon receiving the delayed answer containing the delegation information, Unbound overwrites the now expired entries. This action can be repeated when the delegation information is about to expire making the rogue delegation information ever-updating. From version 1.16.2 on, Unbound stores the start time for a query and uses that to decide if the cached delegation information can be overwritten.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v ≤ 1.16.1
Affected range stops below 1.16.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
NONE
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-613

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