dbcve.org
AuthoritativeApplication · Powerdns

CVE-2026-42001

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.15 / 5.0.5 or later.
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
Insufficient Validation of Autoprimary SOA 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 · moderate confidence

The vulnerability relates to insufficient validation of autoprimary SOA queries in DNS server software. This validation failure could allow malformed or malicious SOA records to be processed, potentially leading to DNS cache poisoning, zone data corruption, or unauthorized zone transfers.

MitigationValidate and sanitize all SOA query responses, implement strict schema validation for DNS records, and ensure autoprimary configurations require proper authentication and integrity verification.

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
AuthoritativeApplication
Affected:>= 4.1.0, < 4.9.15>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.5

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 Authoritative installation
    Run 'pdns --version' or check package manager (dpkg -l pdns-recursor, rpm -qi pdns). For source builds, check the binary or documentation.
    Affected if The software is Powerdns Authoritative Server (not Recursor)
  2. Determine installed version number
    Execute 'pdns --version' and note the version string. Compare against affected ranges: 4.1.0 to 4.9.14, or 5.0.0 to 5.0.4.
    Affected if Version falls within >= 4.1.0 and < 4.9.15, or >= 5.0.0 and < 5.0.5
  3. Verify autoprimary functionality is configured
    Examine pdns.conf for 'autoprimary' or 'slave' directives. Run 'pdns_control list' or check database backend for autoprimary zone configurations.
    Affected if Autoprimary zones or slave zones are defined in configuration
  4. Inspect autoprimary SOA query handling
    Review DNS query logs or packet captures for SOA queries from untrusted sources. Check if the server accepts SOA queries for autoprimary zones without source IP validation.
    Affected if SOA queries for autoprimary zones are processed without proper access control validation

You are affected if running a vulnerable Powerdns Authoritative version with autoprimary or slave functionality enabled and configured, where SOA queries can reach the server from untrusted sources.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.9.15 / 5.0.5 or later
Fixed in 4.9.155.0.5
Interim mitigation

Validate and sanitize all SOA query responses, implement strict schema validation for DNS records, and ensure autoprimary configurations require proper authentication and integrity verification.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

4.9.15+ (4.x branch) or 5.0.5+ (5.x branch)

  1. Identify your current PowerDNS Authoritative Server version using `pdns --version` or your package manager
  2. Back up your PowerDNS configuration files (typically pdns.conf) and zone data
  3. Upgrade PowerDNS Authoritative Server to version 4.9.15 or later for the 4.x branch, or 5.0.5 or later for the 5.x branch
  4. For package-based installations: use your distribution's package manager (apt, yum, dnf) to update the pdns and pdns-backend-* packages
  5. For source-based installations: download the appropriate fixed release from powerdns.com/source/ or GitHub and rebuild
  6. Restart the PowerDNS service after upgrade using `systemctl restart pdns` or equivalent
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking `pdns --version` and reviewing logs for any errors
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or behavior changes between your current version and the target version; test in staging before production deployment

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

Fix this in Authoritative Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-42001 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-42001 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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