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BindApplication · Isc

CVE-2012-3817

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-07-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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
ISC BIND 9.4.x, 9.5.x, 9.6.x, and 9.7.x before 9.7.6-P2; 9.8.x before 9.8.3-P2; 9.9.x before 9.9.1-P2; and 9.6-ESV before 9.6-ESV-R7-P2, when DNSSEC validation is enabled, does not properly initialize the failing-query cache, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (assertion failure and daemon exit) by sending many queries.

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 · high confidence

ISC BIND versions 9.4.x through 9.9.x and 9.6-ESV contain a flaw in the failing-query cache initialization when DNSSEC validation is enabled. This improper initialization allows remote attackers to trigger assertion failures in the daemon by sending a high volume of queries, causing the DNS service to exit unexpectedly.

MitigationUpgrade BIND to the patched versions (9.7.6-P2, 9.8.3-P2, 9.9.1-P2, or 9.6-ESV-R7-P2). If immediate patching is not possible, consider temporarily disabling DNSSEC validation as a compensating control.

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
BindApplication
Affected:= 9.4= 9.4.0= 9.4.1= 9.4.2= 9.4.3= 9.5= 9.5.0= 9.5.1= 9.5.2= 9.5.3= 9.6.0= 9.6.1

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
Complete

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

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. Check installed BIND version
    Run 'named -v' or 'named -V' to display the BIND version, or use package tools like 'rpm -q bind' or 'dpkg -l bind'
    Affected if The version shown is 9.4.x, 9.5.x, 9.6.x, 9.7.x, 9.8.x, or 9.9.x (including 9.6-ESV variants)
  2. Locate the named.conf configuration file
    Find the main BIND configuration file, typically at /etc/named.conf, /etc/bind/named.conf, or as specified in the named startup output
    Affected if You cannot locate the named.conf file to inspect DNSSEC settings
  3. Check DNSSEC validation setting
    Search for 'dnssec-validation' directive in named.conf. Common values are 'yes', 'auto', or 'no'. Look in the 'options' block
    Affected if The directive is set to 'yes' or 'auto', meaning DNSSEC validation is enabled

You are affected if your BIND version is 9.4.x through 9.9.x (or 9.6-ESV) AND DNSSEC validation is enabled in your configuration, as this combination allows the improper cache initialization to be triggered by high query volume.

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 BIND to the patched versions (9.7.6-P2, 9.8.3-P2, 9.9.1-P2, or 9.6-ESV-R7-P2). If immediate patching is not possible, consider temporarily disabling DNSSEC validation as a compensating control.

Fix this in Bind Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2012-3817 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
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