CVE-2026-32665: Remote DNS-over-QUIC denial of service due to `quic-size` budget bypass
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.25.1, when downstream DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) is enabled, the first two bidirectional streams on a new QUIC connection (streamid 0 and 4) bypass the per-stream 'quic-size' gate entirely, and large input buffers are allocated later, after only the 2-byte length prefix has been received from the initial streams. As a result, a remote client can make Unbound exceed the configured 'quic-size' limit with low-cost input. Using only one connection and two streams, each sending a declared 65535-byte length prefix and then holding the streams open, a client can already trivially make Unbound roughly allocate double that amount. This is a remote availability issue / memory-accounting bypass in the downstream DoQ implementation that leads to denial of service for new DoQ clients. This vulnerability needs Unbound to be compiled with DoQ support ('--with-libngtcp2') and the 'quic-port' to be configured for the listening interfaces.
Other sources
Remote DNS-over-QUIC denial of service due to quic-size budget bypass
— Microsoft
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 1.25.2-1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
NLnet Labs Unboundto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.25.2 - Compensating control
If you cannot upgrade to Unbound 1.25.2 immediately, mitigate by disabling downstream DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) so the buggy DoQ stream handling is not reachable.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-32665?
CVE-2026-32665 has a severity rating of high, with a score of 7.5.
How do I fix CVE-2026-32665?
To mitigate CVE-2026-32665, upgrade to Unbound version 1.25.2 or later where the vulnerability is addressed.
What impact does CVE-2026-32665 have on my system?
CVE-2026-32665 can allow for a denial of service due to a bypass of the 'quic-size' budget for the first two streams of a new QUIC connection.
Which versions of Unbound are affected by CVE-2026-32665?
CVE-2026-32665 affects NLnet Labs Unbound versions 1.22.0 up to and including 1.25.1.
What kind of attack does CVE-2026-32665 facilitate?
CVE-2026-32665 facilitates a remote denial of service attack due to improper handling of large input buffers in DNS-over-QUIC.