Buffer overflow in Thekelleys Dnsmasq

CVE-2020-25682

A flaw was found in dnsmasq before 2.83. A buffer overflow vulnerability was discovered in the way dnsmasq extract names from DNS packets before validating them with DNSSEC data. An attacker on the network, who can create valid DNS replies, could use this flaw to cause an overflow with arbitrary data in a heap-allocated memory, possibly executing code on the machine. The flaw is in the rfc1035.c:extract_name() function, which writes data to the memory pointed by name assuming MAXDNAME*2 bytes are available in the buffer. However, in some code execution paths, it is possible extract_name() gets passed an offset from the base buffer, thus reducing, in practice, the number of available bytes that can be written in the buffer. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

EPSS: 0.708 (99.4th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-25682?
CVE-2020-25682 is a high-severity vulnerability in Thekelleys Dnsmasq, classified under Heap-based Buffer Overflow. CVSS score: 8.1/10. Published 2021-01-20.
How severe is CVE-2020-25682?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.1 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-25682 known to be exploited?
5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.