Vulnerability in Dnsmasq
CVE-2026-2291
dnsmasqs extract_name() function can be abused to cause a heap buffer overflow, allowing an attacker to inject false DNS cache entries, which could result in DNS lookups to redirect to an attacker-controlled IP address, or to cause a DoS.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.3 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.006 (47.1th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 47th percentile — 47.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.006 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Dnsmasq — versions 0, 2.93, 2.92rel2
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html
- www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-2291.html
- www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/471747
- thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/CVE/
- lists.thekelleys.org.uk/pipermail/dnsmasq-discuss/2026q2/018471.html
- github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/519082
- github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/519093
- github.com/pi-hole/FTL/releases/tag/v6.6.2
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-2291?
- CVE-2026-2291 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dnsmasq, classified under CWE-190: INTEGER OVERFLOW OR WRAPAROUND. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2026-05-11.
- How severe is CVE-2026-2291?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2026-2291 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.