# CVE-2017-15090: Security feature bypass in PowerDNS

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can bypass DNSSEC validation to alter DNS records by exploiting bailiwick checks in PowerDNS Recursor.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Jan 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-15090, GHSA-pr86-5p67-45rx, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-15090

## What is CVE-2017-15090?

CVE-2017-15090 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor, published on 23 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue has been found in the DNSSEC validation component of PowerDNS Recursor from 4.0.0 and up to and including 4.0.6, where the signatures might have been accepted as valid even if the signed data was not in bailiwick of the DNSKEY used to sign it. This allows an attacker in position of man-in-the-middle to alter the content of records by issuing a valid signature for the crafted records.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15090?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Powerdns Recursor.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15090?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-15090 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Powerdns Recursor

- [CVE-2009-4009](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4009/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-10030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10030/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-59023](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-59023/): Crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations in Recursor (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2025-59030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-59030/): Insufficient validation of incoming notifies over TCP can lead to a denial of service in Recursor (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-22617](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-22617/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-15090 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15090 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor, published on 23 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Powerdns Recursor. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15090/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15090/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15090
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15090
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15090

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15090/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.