# CVE-2017-3138: named exits with a REQUIRE assertion failure if it receives a null command string on its control channel

> An attacker can cause the BIND DNS server to crash by sending a null command string to its control channel, resulting in a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-3138, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-3138, GHSA-q858-q2j2-9jg4, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-3138

## What is CVE-2017-3138?

CVE-2017-3138 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

named contains a feature which allows operators to issue commands to a running server by communicating with the server process over a control channel, using a utility program such as rndc. A regression introduced in a recent feature change has created a situation under which some versions of named can be caused to exit with a REQUIRE assertion failure if they are sent a null command string. Affects BIND 9.9.9->9.9.9-P7, 9.9.10b1->9.9.10rc2, 9.10.4->9.10.4-P7, 9.10.5b1->9.10.5rc2, 9.11.0->9.11.0-P4, 9.11.1b1->9.11.1rc2, 9.9.9-S1->9.9.9-S9.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-3138?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Isc Bind, Netapp Data Ontap Edge, Netapp Element Software, Netapp Oncommand Balance.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-3138?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-3138 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-3138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-3138 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-3138 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-3138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2017-3138/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3138/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3138
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-3138
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-3138

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3138/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.