Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2026-42388

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 8 weeks old

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
Incomplete validation of the SOA record present in a catalog zone might lead to a crash.

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

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability in DNS server software where incomplete validation of the SOA (Start of Authority) record present in a catalog zone can cause the server to crash. Catalog zones are used for zone provisioning in DNS implementations.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch or update to the DNS server software to ensure proper validation of SOA records in catalog zones.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 your DNS server software
    Run a command to determine which DNS server software is running (e.g., 'named -v' for BIND, 'dnsserver -v' or check process list, or review system documentation)
    Affected if The software is a DNS server that supports catalog zones but the version is unknown or unpatched
  2. Check if catalog zones are configured
    Review your DNS server configuration files for any zone definitions that use the catalog zone schema or 'catalog' zone type. Search for 'catalog' in zone configuration blocks or check for zones with provisioning-related metadata
    Affected if Catalog zones are defined and loaded on the DNS server
  3. Verify the installed version against fixed releases
    Compare your installed DNS server version to the vendor-released patched versions for this vulnerability. Check the vendor security advisory for version numbers
    Affected if The installed version is older than the patched version and catalog zones are in use
  4. Check for SOA record validation in catalog zones
    If accessible, review DNS server logs for errors or warnings related to SOA record processing in catalog zones, or test by attempting to add a catalog zone with an intentionally malformed SOA record to observe server behavior
    Affected if The server crashes or produces validation errors when processing SOA records in catalog zones

You are affected if your DNS server software supports catalog zones, has catalog zones configured, and is running a version that lacks the fix for incomplete SOA record validation in catalog zones.

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

Apply the vendor-supplied patch or update to the DNS server software to ensure proper validation of SOA records in catalog zones.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-42388 — 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-2026-42388 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