CVE-2020-25829
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before...
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
CVE-2020-25829- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/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 - Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
CVE-2020-25829- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-18463 No score
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
EUVD-2020-18463- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w93h-8xj5-rq44
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before...
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
GHSA-w93h-8xj5-rq44- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2020-25829
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2020-25829- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
CVE-2020-25829- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 5 moreShow less
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-25829
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-25829- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-25829
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process).
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-25829- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2020-0393 No score
Updated pdns-recursor package fixes a security vulnerability
An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. A remote attacker can cause the cached records for a given name to be updated to the Bogus DNSSEC validation state, instead of their actual DNSSEC Secure state, via a DNS ANY query. This results in a denial of service for installation that always validate (dnssec=validate), and for clients requesting validation when on-demand validation is enabled (dnssec=process). (CVE-2020-25829)
- Record
MGASA-2020-0393- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2020:1687-1 No score
Security update for pdns-recursor
This update for pdns-recursor fixes the following issues:
-pdns-recursorwas updated to 4.1.1 and 4.3.5:
- CVE-2020-25829: Fixed a cache pollution related to DNSSEC validation (boo#1177383)
- CVE-2020-14196: Fixed an access restriction bypass with API key and password authentication (boo#1173302).
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2020:1687-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:11157-1 No score
pdns-recursor-4.5.5-1.3 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the pdns-recursor-4.5.5-1.3 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:11157-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.12 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.13 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.14 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.15 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.16 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.17 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.18 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.19 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.20 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.21 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
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| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.22 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.23 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorAlpine:v3.24 |
before 4.3.5-r0 | 4.3.5-r0 |
pdns-recursorDebian:12 |
before 4.3.5-1 | 4.3.5-1 |
pdns-recursorDebian:13 |
before 4.3.5-1 | 4.3.5-1 |
pdns-recursorDebian:14 |
before 4.3.5-1 | 4.3.5-1 |
pdns-recursorDebian:10 |
before 4.1.11-1+deb10u2, plus listed versions 4.1.11-14.1.11-1+deb10u1 |
4.1.11-1+deb10u2 |
pdns-recursorMageia:7 |
before 4.1.18-1.mga7 | 4.1.18-1.mga7 |
pdns-recursorUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.7.3-14.0.0~alpha1-14.0.0~alpha1-24.0.0~alpha2-24.0.0~alpha2-2ubuntu0.14.0.0~alpha2-2ubuntu0.1+esm1 |
None known |
pdns-recursorUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 4.0.6-14.0.6-1build14.0.7-14.1.1-14.1.1-1build14.1.1-24.1.1-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
pdns-recursorUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 4.2.0-64.2.1-14.2.1-1build14.2.1-1build24.2.1-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
pdns-recursorSUSE:Package Hub 12 SP1 |
before 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 | 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 |
pdns-recursorSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1 |
before 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 | 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 |
pdns-recursorSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP2 |
before 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 | 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 |
pdns-recursoropenSUSE:Leap 15.1 |
before 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 | 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 |
pdns-recursoropenSUSE:Leap 15.2 |
before 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 | 4.3.5-bp152.2.12.1 |
pdns-recursoropenSUSE:Tumbleweed |
before 4.5.5-1.3 | 4.5.5-1.3 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| 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-2020-25829 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Powerdns Recursor, published October 16, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 6.54%, the 93rd percentile. Fixed in pdns-recursor 4.3.5-r0.
References
docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2020-07.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00036.html
security.gentoo.org/glsa/202012-19
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25829
github.com/advisories/GHSA-w93h-8xj5-rq44
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-25829
Show 27 moreShow less
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-25829
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2020-0393.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27400
doc.powerdns.com/recursor/changelog/4.1.html
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-25829
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25829
bugzilla.suse.com/1173302
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-14196