Knot ResolverApplication · Nic

CVE-2018-10920

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4.1 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
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
Improper input validation bug in DNS resolver component of Knot Resolver before 2.4.1 allows remote attacker to poison cache.

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

Improper input validation in Knot Resolver's DNS resolver component before version 2.4.1 allows remote attackers to inject malicious DNS records into the resolver's cache, potentially redirecting legitimate DNS queries to attacker-controlled infrastructure.

MitigationUpgrade Knot Resolver to version 2.4.1 or later to remediate the input validation flaw; consider implementing DNSSEC validation as an additional defense layer against cache poisoning attacks.

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
Knot ResolverApplication
Affected:< 2.4.1

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

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. Confirm Knot Resolver installation
    Check if knot-resolver package is installed. On Linux systems, run: `dpkg -l knot-resolver` or `rpm -qa | grep knot-resolver` or check for the kresd service: `systemctl list-units | grep kresd`
    Affected if Knot Resolver package or service is found on the system
  2. Identify installed version
    Run `knot-resolver --version` or check the package version: `dpkg -s knot-resolver | grep Version` or `rpm -qi knot-resolver`
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 2.4.1 (for example, 2.4.0, 2.3.x, etc.)
  3. Verify DNS resolver component is active
    Check if the kresd daemon is running: `systemctl status kresd` or `ps aux | grep kresd`. Also check configuration directory /etc/knot-resolver/ for active configuration files.
    Affected if The kresd service is running and the DNS resolver component is actively processing queries

The environment is affected if Knot Resolver (kresd) is installed with a version lower than 2.4.1 and the DNS resolver service is active.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.4.1 or later
Fixed in 2.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Knot Resolver to version 2.4.1 or later to remediate the input validation flaw; consider implementing DNSSEC validation as an additional defense layer against cache poisoning attacks.

Fix this in Knot Resolver 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10920 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2018-10920 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