Description
An unbounded resend loop vulnerability exists in the BIND 9 resolver state machine during bad-server handling, enabling a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause severe resource exhaustion by sending queries that trigger specific retry conditions. This issue affects BIND 9 versions 9.18.36 through 9.18.48, 9.20.8 through 9.20.22, 9.21.7 through 9.21.21, 9.18.36-S1 through 9.18.48-S1, and 9.20.9-S1 through 9.20.22-S1.
Problem types
CWE-606 Unchecked Input for Loop Condition
Product status
9.18.36 (custom)
9.20.8 (custom)
9.21.7 (custom)
9.18.36-S1 (custom)
9.20.9-S1 (custom)
Credits
ISC would like to thank Billy Baraja (BielraX) for bringing this vulnerability to our attention.
References
kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-5950 (CVE-2026-5950)
downloads.isc.org/isc/bind9/9.18.49
downloads.isc.org/isc/bind9/9.20.23
downloads.isc.org/isc/bind9/9.21.22