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BindApplication · Isc

CVE-2015-8704

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
apl_42.c in ISC BIND 9.x before 9.9.8-P3, 9.9.x, and 9.10.x before 9.10.3-P3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (INSIST assertion failure and daemon exit) via a malformed Address Prefix List (APL) record.

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

This is a denial of service vulnerability in ISC BIND 9 DNS server where a malformed Address Prefix List (APL) record triggers an INSIST assertion failure in apl_42.c, causing the DNS daemon to exit. The attack requires remote authenticated users, meaning the attacker needs valid credentials to the DNS service.

MitigationUpgrade BIND to version 9.9.8-P3, 9.10.3-P3, or later to patch the vulnerable apl_42.c code. Implement proper input validation for APL records if running older supported versions.

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:= 9.0= 9.0.1= 9.1= 9.1.1= 9.1.2= 9.1.3= 9.2= 9.2.0= 9.2.1= 9.2.2= 9.2.3= 9.2.4

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 BIND version
    Run 'named -v' or 'bind -v' to display the installed BIND version, or check the package manager output
    Affected if The version falls within 9.0 to 9.2.4 (including all listed minor versions like 9.0.1, 9.1.1, 9.2.0, 9.2.3, etc.)
  2. Confirm BIND is running
    Check process status with 'ps aux | grep named' or 'systemctl status named' to confirm the DNS server is active
    Affected if BIND is running and the version is in the affected range from step 1
  3. Determine if authenticated access is possible
    Review named.conf for 'allow-update' or 'allow-transfer' directives that permit remote authenticated users, or check if AXFR/IXFR is enabled for remote clients
    Affected if The server accepts dynamic updates or zone transfers from remote authenticated users, creating the attack vector described in the CVE
  4. Inspect for APL records in zone data
    Search zone files for 'APL' record types or review DNS zone data if Address Prefix List records are present
    Affected if APL records exist in any configured zones and the server version is vulnerable
  5. Check for crash or assertion failure logs
    Review system logs (/var/log/messages, /var/log/named/named.log, or journalctl) for INSIST failures or daemon exits referencing apl_42.c
    Affected if Logs show recent crashes with 'INSIST' failures in apl_42.c indicating potential exploitation

A system is affected if it runs BIND 9.0 through 9.2.4, accepts remote authenticated access (dynamic updates or zone transfers), and processes APL records or shows crash logs from the apl_42.c assertion failure.

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 version 9.9.8-P3, 9.10.3-P3, or later to patch the vulnerable apl_42.c code. Implement proper input validation for APL records if running older supported versions.

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-2015-8704 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