CVE-2018-5738: Some versions of BIND can improperly permit recursive query service to unauthorized clients

Published Jan 16, 2019
·
Updated

Change #4777 (introduced in October 2017) introduced an unforeseen issue in releases which were issued after that date, affecting which clients are permitted to make recursive queries to a BIND nameserver. The intended (and documented) behavior is that if an operator has not specified a value for the "allow-recursion" setting, it SHOULD default to one of the following: none, if "recursion no;" is set in named.conf; a value inherited from the "allow-query-cache" or "allow-query" settings IF "recursion yes;" (the default for that setting) AND match lists are explicitly set for "allow-query-cache" or "allow-query" (see the BIND9 Administrative Reference Manual section 6.2 for more details); or the intended default of "allow-recursion {localhost; localnets;};" if "recursion yes;" is in effect and no values are explicitly set for "allow-query-cache" or "allow-query". However, because of the regression introduced by change #4777, it is possible when "recursion yes;" is in effect and no match list values are provided for "allow-query-cache" or "allow-query" for the setting of "allow-recursion" to inherit a setting of all hosts from the "allow-query" setting default, improperly permitting recursion to all clients. Affects BIND 9.9.12, 9.10.7, 9.11.3, 9.12.0->9.12.1-P2, the development release 9.13.0, and also releases 9.9.12-S1, 9.10.7-S1, 9.11.3-S1, and 9.11.3-S2 from BIND 9 Supported Preview Edition.

Affected Software

19 affected componentsFixes available
ISC BIND=9.9.12
ISC BIND=9.9.12-s1
ISC BIND=9.10.7
ISC BIND=9.10.7-s1
ISC BIND=9.11.3
ISC BIND=9.11.3-s1
ISC BIND=9.11.3-s2
ISC BIND=9.12.0
ISC BIND=9.12.0-a1
ISC BIND=9.12.0-b1
ISC BIND=9.12.0-b2
ISC BIND=9.12.0-rc1
ISC BIND=9.12.0-rc3
ISC BIND=9.12.1
ISC BIND=9.12.1-p1
ISC BIND=9.12.1-p2
ISC BIND=9.13.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
debian/bind9
1:9.16.50-1~deb11u21:9.16.50-1~deb11u41:9.18.41-1~deb12u11:9.18.44-1~deb12u11:9.20.15-1~deb13u11:9.20.18-1~deb13u11:9.20.19-1

Remediation

Information

Future maintenance releases of BIND will correct the regression which introduced this issue but ISC does not believe that replacement security releases of BIND are required, given that several easy, safe, and completely effective configuration workarounds are available for any operators with affected configurations. However, an advance version of the patch diff which will be applied to future versions is available upon request to security-officer@isc.org and a correction for the behavior in question will debut in the release candidates for BIND 9.9.13, BIND 9.10.8, BIND 9.11.4, and BIND 9.12.2.

Event History

Jan 16, 2019
CVE Published
via MITRE·08:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·08:00 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:29 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Aug 5, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·05:50 AM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·08:25 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Feb 21, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·08:26 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2018-5738?

CVE-2018-5738 has a moderate severity rating, as it impacts recursive query processing in BIND nameservers.

2

How do I fix CVE-2018-5738?

To fix CVE-2018-5738, update your BIND installation to a version that includes the security patch.

3

Which versions of BIND are affected by CVE-2018-5738?

CVE-2018-5738 affects BIND versions released after October 2017, including 9.9.12, 9.10.7, 9.11.x, and 9.12.x.

4

Is CVE-2018-5738 related to recursive queries in BIND?

Yes, CVE-2018-5738 specifically affects how recursive queries are handled by BIND nameservers.

5

What should administrators do regarding CVE-2018-5738?

Administrators should review their BIND configurations and ensure they are using supported versions with the necessary updates to mitigate CVE-2018-5738.

Contact

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