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PowerdnsApplication

CVE-2005-2301

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-07-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
PowerDNS before 2.9.18, when running with an LDAP backend, does not properly escape LDAP queries, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (failure to answer ldap questions) and possibly conduct an LDAP injection attack.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

PowerDNS before version 2.9.18, when configured with an LDAP backend for DNS zone lookups, fails to properly escape/sanitize user input before embedding it in LDAP queries. This allows specially crafted input to potentially manipulate LDAP query syntax (LDAP injection) or cause the LDAP backend to fail, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade PowerDNS to version 2.9.18 or later. If upgrade is not feasible, implement input validation/escaping at the application layer before queries reach the LDAP backend.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
PowerdnsApplication
Affected:= 2.9.0= 2.9.1= 2.9.2= 2.9.3a= 2.9.4= 2.9.5= 2.9.6= 2.9.7= 2.9.8= 2.9.10= 2.9.11= 2.9.12

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify PowerDNS version
    Run the command to display the PowerDNS version (e.g., pdns_control version or pdns --version)
    Affected if The version displayed is 2.9.0, 2.9.1, 2.9.2, 2.9.3a, 2.9.4, 2.9.5, 2.9.6, 2.9.7, 2.9.8, 2.9.10, 2.9.11, or 2.9.12
  2. Locate PowerDNS configuration file
    Find the PowerDNS configuration file (commonly pdns.conf or specified via --config-dir)
    Affected if Configuration file exists and can be examined
  3. Verify LDAP backend is enabled
    Search the configuration file for the 'launch' or 'backend' directive and check if 'ldap' is specified
    Affected if The LDAP backend is listed in the launch or backend configuration directive

You are affected if PowerDNS version is 2.9.0 through 2.9.12 AND the LDAP backend is configured/enabled for DNS zone lookups.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade PowerDNS to version 2.9.18 or later. If upgrade is not feasible, implement input validation/escaping at the application layer before queries reach the LDAP backend.

Fix this in Powerdns Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-2301 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data