Vulnerabilities

Several Vulnerabilities Patched in PowerDNS

Updates released for the authoritative nameserver and recursive nameserver components of PowerDNS patch several vulnerabilities that can be exploited for denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, records manipulation, modifying configurations, and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

Eduard Kovacs

November 28, 2017

PowerDNS Recursor versions 4.0.0 through 4.0.6 are affected by a DNSSEC validation issue that can be exploited by a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacker to forge signatures and alter DNS records (CVE-2017-15090).

Another flaw affecting these versions of Recursor is CVE-2017-15092, an XSS bug that allows a remote attacker to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code into the Recursor web interface. The security hole can be exploited by sending specially crafted DNS queries to the server in order to alter the web interface or cause it to enter a DoS condition.

The Recursor is also impacted by a vulnerability that allows an authenticated attacker to inject new directives into its configuration (CVE-2017-15093). The last issue affecting this component is a DoS flaw caused by a memory leak that can occur when parsing specially crafted DNSSEC ECDSA keys (CVE-2017-15094). The vulnerability can be exploited by using an authoritative server to send specially crafted keys to the recursor.

The only security hole affecting PowerDNS Authoritative versions 4.0.4, 3.4.11 and prior is CVE-2017-15091, which allows an authenticated attacker to cause a DoS condition.

The vulnerabilities have been rated medium and low severity as they do not impact default configurations. Patches are included in PowerDNS Authoritative 4.0.5 and Recursor 4.0.7. Minimal fixes have also been provided for the 3.4.11 and 3.7.4 releases, but users of these versions have been advised to migrate to the 4.x branch.

These security holes were discovered by Finland-based cybersecurity services company Nixu during a source code audit, Chris Navarrete of Fortinet’s Fortiguard Labs, Kees Monshouwer, and a researcher who uses the online moniker “everyman.”

Written By Eduard Kovacs

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Latest News

Click to comment

Mapping Threat Intelligence to the NIST Compliance Framework Part 2

How threat intelligence is critical when justifying budget for GRC personnel, and for threat intelligence, incident response, security operations and CISO buyers.

Landon Winkelvoss

Password Dependency: How to Break the Cycle

Hackers rarely hack in anymore. They log in using stolen, weak, default, or otherwise compromised credentials. That’s why it’s so critical to break the password dependency cycle. But how can this be done?

Torsten George

Why CISOs Make Great Board Members

Cybersecurity-related risk is a top concern, so boards need to know they have the proper oversight in place. Even as first-timers, successful CISOs make for successful board members.

Galina Antova

A Change in Mindset: From a Threat-based to Risk-based Approach to Security

A threat-based approach to security often focuses on a checklist to meet industry requirements but overlooked the key component of security: reducing risk.

Marie Hattar