CVE-2026-42388 Missing input validation for catalog zones
Incomplete validation of SOA records in catalog zones allows attackers to crash the PowerDNS Recursor service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-42388?
CVE-2026-42388 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in PowerDNS Recursor, published on 25 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Incomplete validation of the SOA record present in a catalog zone might lead to a crash.
Weakness: CWE-20
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-42388?
How do I fix CVE-2026-42388?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-42388 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-42388 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-42388, GHSA-wmff-hvrr-9ch3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-42388.