# CVE-2025-25188: DNSSEC validation may accept broken authentication chains

> Attackers can bypass DNSSEC validation in Hickory DNS by exploiting trust anchor handling, allowing spoofed DNS responses to be accepted as authentic.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P`)
- **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:** 10 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 12 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2025-IN27647, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-25188, GHSA-37wc-h8xc-5hc4, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-25188

## What is CVE-2025-25188?

CVE-2025-25188 is a medium-severity vulnerability in hickory-dns, published on 10 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Hickory DNS is a Rust based DNS client, server, and resolver. A vulnerability present starting in version 0.8.0 and prior to versions 0.24.3 and 0.25.0-alpha.5 impacts Hickory DNS users relying on DNSSEC verification in the client library, stub resolver, or recursive resolver. The DNSSEC validation routines treat entire RRsets of DNSKEY records as trusted once they have established trust in only one of the DNSKEYs. As a result, if a zone includes a DNSKEY with a public key that matches a configured trust anchor, all keys in that zone will be trusted to authenticate other records in the zone. There is a second variant of this vulnerability involving DS records, where an authenticated DS record covering one DNSKEY leads to trust in signatures made by an unrelated DNSKEY in the same zone. Versions 0.24.3 and 0.25.0-alpha.5 fix the issue.

Weakness: CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-25188?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including hickory-proto.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `hickory-proto` | crates.io | From 0.8.0 | 0.24.3 |
| `hickory-proto` | crates.io | From 0.8.0 | 0.24.3 |

## How do I fix CVE-2025-25188?

Upgrade hickory-proto to 0.24.3 or later.

## Is CVE-2025-25188 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-25188 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-25188 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-25188 is a medium-severity vulnerability in hickory-dns, published on 10 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-25188 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- hickory-proto (crates.io): affected from 0.8.0; fixed in 0.24.3
- hickory-proto (crates.io): affected from 0.8.0; fixed in 0.24.3

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-2025-25188/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-25188/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-25188
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-25188
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-25188

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-25188/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.