dbcve.org
RecursorApplication · Powerdns

CVE-2023-22617

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
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
A remote attacker might be able to cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 via a DNS query that retrieves DS records for a misconfigured domain, because QName minimization is used in QM fallback mode. This is fixed in 4.8.1.

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

A remote attacker can cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 by sending DNS queries that retrieve DS records for a misconfigured domain. The vulnerability exists because QName minimization is used in QM fallback mode, leading to uncontrolled recursion.

MitigationUpgrade PowerDNS Recursor to version 4.8.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
RecursorApplication
Affected:= 4.8.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 PowerDNS Recursor installation
    Run 'pdns_recursor --version' or check package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -l | grep pdns-recursor', 'rpm -qa | grep pdns-recursor')
    Affected if PowerDNS Recursor version is 4.8.0
  2. Confirm service is running
    Run 'systemctl status pdns-recursor' or 'service pdns-recursor status'
    Affected if Service is active and listening on DNS port (typically 53)
  3. Verify QName minimization configuration
    Check pdns.conf for 'qname-minimization' setting (typically in /etc/pdnsrecursor/ or /etc/pdns/); run 'rec_control get qname-minimization' if available
    Affected if QName minimization is enabled (value 'on' or 'strict') and service is exposed to untrusted networks

You are affected only if PowerDNS Recursor version is exactly 4.8.0, the service is running and exposed to network queries, and QName minimization is enabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade PowerDNS Recursor to version 4.8.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.8.1

  1. Backup the current PowerDNS Recursor configuration and data
  2. Upgrade PowerDNS Recursor from version 4.8.0 to version 4.8.1 using the appropriate package manager or installation method
  3. Restart the PowerDNS Recursor service to apply the update
  4. Verify the Recursor service is running correctly and monitor for any issues

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Recursor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2023-22617 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