CVE-2018-5737
BIND 9.12's serve-stale implementation can cause an assertion failure in rbtdb.c or other undesirable behavior, even if serve-stale is not enabled.
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.9
BIND 9.12's serve-stale implementation can cause an assertion failure in rbtdb.c or other undesirable behavior, even if serve-stale is not enabled.
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
CVE-2018-5737- CVSS 3.0
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-17506
5.9
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
EUVD-2018-17506- CVSS 3.0
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9cxr-pmg7-9w5v
7.5
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an...
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
GHSA-9cxr-pmg7-9w5v- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-617
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.9
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
CVE-2018-5737- CVSS 3.0
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-617
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2018-5737
7.5
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2018-5737- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2018-5737
7.5
CVE-2018-5737 does not affect BellSoft software
- Record
BELL-CVE-2018-5737- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
A problem with the implementation of the new serve-stale feature in BIND 9.12 can lead to an assertion failure in rbtdb.c, even when stale-answer-enable is off. Additionally, problematic interaction between the serve-stale feature and NSEC aggressive negative caching can in some cases cause undesirable behavior from named, such as a recursion loop or excessive logging. Deliberate exploitation of this condition could cause operational problems depending on the particular manifestation -- either degradation or denial of service. Affects BIND 9.12.0 and 9.12.1.
- Record
CVE-2018-5737- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10650-1 No score
bind-9.16.20-1.4 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the bind-9.16.20-1.4 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10650-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
bindAlpine:v3.10 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.11 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.12 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.13 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.14 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.15 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.16 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.17 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.18 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.19 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
Show 8 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
bindAlpine:v3.20 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.21 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.22 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.23 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.24 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.8 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindAlpine:v3.9 |
before 9.12.1_p2-r0 | 9.12.1_p2-r0 |
bindopenSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 32 CVEs |
before 9.16.20-1.4 | 9.16.20-1.4 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-5737 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.9) in Isc Bind, published January 16, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 10.6%, the 95th percentile. Fixed in bind 9.12.1_p2-r0.
References
securityfocus.com/bid/104236
kb.isc.org/docs/aa-01606
securitytracker.com/id/1040942
security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180926-0004
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5737
github.com/advisories/GHSA-9cxr-pmg7-9w5v
Show 34 moreShow less
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2018-5737
docs.bell-sw.com/security/cves/CVE-2018-5737
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2006-4339
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2007-2925
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2007-2926
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-8461
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-2775
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9131
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9778
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-3135
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-3141
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-3142
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-3145
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-5737
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-5743
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-5745
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-6465
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-6471
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-6476
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-6477
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8616
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8617
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8618
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8619
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8620
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8621
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8622
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8623
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8624
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8625
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-25214
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-25215
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-25216
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-25218