CVE-2023-6516

Specific recursive query patterns may lead to an out-of-memory condition

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: February 13, 2024 at 02:05 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:50 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsActive IQ Unified ManagerBIND

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

To keep its cache database efficient, `named` running as a recursive resolver occasionally attempts to clean up the database. It uses several methods, including some that are asynchronous: a small chunk of memory pointing to the cache element that can be cleaned up is first allocated and then queued for later processing. It was discovered that if the resolver is continuously processing query patterns triggering this type of cache-database maintenance, `named` may not be able to handle the cleanup events in a timely manner. This in turn enables the list of queued cleanup events to grow infinitely large over time, allowing the configured `max-cache-size` limit to be significantly exceeded. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.16.0 through 9.16.45 and 9.16.8-S1 through 9.16.45-S1.

Affected

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

9.16.0 ≤ v ≤ 9.16.459.16.8-S1 ≤ v ≤ 9.16.45-S19.16.8-s1 ≤ v ≤ 9.16.45-s19.16.09.16.11 s19.16.12 s19.16.13 s19.16.14 s19.16.21 s19.16.32 s19.16.36 s19.16.43 s19.16.45 s19.16.8 s19.16.8-S19.16.8-s1

Remediation

No guide yet

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

Patch and advisory references

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-770CWE-789

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