# CVE-2026-50248: BOGUS configured primary hostname accepted for XFR in auth/rpz zones

> Attackers can spoof DNS records to become the primary for auth/rpz zones, allowing them to replace zone data or response policies in Unbound.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 22 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-50248, AZL-92928, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-50248, ECHO-120d-ba58-fa3d, GHSA-vmhf-793v-3vr8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-50248

## What is CVE-2026-50248?

CVE-2026-50248 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Nlnetlabs Unbound, published on 22 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.7.0 up to and including 1.25.1, when an auth/rpz zone has a configured primary hostname that resolves to BOGUS A/AAAA, it is still considered as a possible XFR endpoint. A malicious actor that can spoof the hostname's A/AAAA record (no valid RRSIG required) becomes the zone's XFR primary and can replaces the entire zone/the resolver's entire response policy.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-50248?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nlnetlabs Unbound.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-50248?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-50248 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-50248 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nlnetlabs Unbound

- [CVE-2026-81642](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-81642/): Heap buffer overflow and possible Remote Code Execution when digesting DNSKEY (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-33278](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33278/): Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-42944](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42944/): Heap overflow with multiple NSID, COOKIE, PADDING EDNS options (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-42959](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42959/): Crash during DNSSEC validation of malicious content (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-82717](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-82717/): CNAME synthesis could lead to heap corruption (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-50248 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-50248 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Nlnetlabs Unbound, published on 22 Jul 2026. 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-2026-50248 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nlnetlabs Unbound. 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-2026-50248/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50248/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-50248
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-50248
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50248

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50248/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.