CVE-2023-2828

named's configured cache size limit can be significantly exceeded

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: June 21, 2023 at 04:26 PM UTC
Updated: October 24, 2026 at 07:10 PM UTC
9 products affected across 4 vendorsDebian LinuxFedoraActive IQ Unified Manager· also runs on 5 platforms

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Every `named` instance configured to run as a recursive resolver maintains a cache database holding the responses to the queries it has recently sent to authoritative servers. The size limit for that cache database can be configured using the `max-cache-size` statement in the configuration file; it defaults to 90% of the total amount of memory available on the host. When the size of the cache reaches 7/8 of the configured limit, a cache-cleaning algorithm starts to remove expired and/or least-recently used RRsets from the cache, to keep memory use below the configured limit. It has been discovered that the effectiveness of the cache-cleaning algorithm used in `named` can be severely diminished by querying the resolver for specific RRsets in a certain order, effectively allowing the configured `max-cache-size` limit to be significantly exceeded. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.11.0 through 9.16.41, 9.18.0 through 9.18.15, 9.19.0 through 9.19.13, 9.11.3-S1 through 9.16.41-S1, and 9.18.11-S1 through 9.18.15-S1.

Affected

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

9.11.0 ≤ v ≤ 9.16.419.11.3 ≤ v ≤ 9.16.419.18.0 ≤ v ≤ 9.18.159.18.11 ≤ v ≤ 9.18.159.19.0 ≤ v ≤ 9.19.139.11.09.11.3-S19.18.09.18.11-S19.19.0
All versions
netapp-h300s (same device)
All versions
netapp-h410c (same device)
All versions
netapp-h410s (same device)
All versions
netapp-h500s (same device)
All versions
netapp-h700s (same device)

Runs on — not affected

The affected product only carries this flaw when running on these platforms. The platforms themselves are not vulnerable.

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHisc
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-770

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