# CVE-2017-15092: Cross-site scripting in PowerDNS Recursor

> Remote attackers can inject malicious scripts into the PowerDNS Recursor web interface via unescaped DNS query names, potentially compromising user sessions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Jan 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-15092, GHSA-5v6v-h944-2g93, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-15092

## What is CVE-2017-15092?

CVE-2017-15092 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor, published on 23 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A cross-site scripting issue has been found in the web interface of PowerDNS Recursor from 4.0.0 up to and including 4.0.6, where the qname of DNS queries was displayed without any escaping, allowing a remote attacker to inject HTML and Javascript code into the web interface, altering the content.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15092?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Powerdns Recursor.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15092?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-15092 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15092 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-2017-15092 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15092 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor, published on 23 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15092 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-2017-15092/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15092/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15092
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15092
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15092

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15092/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.