CVE-2026-33489
HIGHCoreDNS transfer plugin subzone ACL bypass via lexicographic zone comparison
Title source: cnaDescription
CoreDNS is a DNS server that chains plugins. In versions prior to 1.14.3, the transfer plugin can select the wrong ACL stanza when both a parent zone and a more-specific subzone are configured. The longestMatch() function in plugin/transfer/transfer.go uses a lexicographic string comparison instead of an actual longest-suffix match to select the winning zone. As a result, a permissive parent-zone transfer rule can override a restrictive subzone rule depending on zone name ordering (e.g., "example.org." > "a.example.org." lexicographically). This allows an unauthorized remote client to perform AXFR/IXFR for the subzone and retrieve its full zone contents. This issue has been fixed in version 1.14.3.
References (2)
Core 2
Core References
X_Refsource_Confirm x_refsource_confirm
https://github.com/coredns/coredns/security/advisories/GHSA-h8mm-c463-wjq3
X_Refsource_Misc x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/coredns/coredns/releases/tag/v1.14.3
Scores
CVSS v3
7.5
EPSS
0.0039
EPSS Percentile
30.4%
Attack Vector
NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
poc
Automatable
yes
Technical Impact
partial
Details
CWE
CWE-863
Status
published
Products (3)
coredns/coredns
0 - 1.14.3Go
coredns/coredns
< 1.14.3
coredns.io/coredns
< 1.14.3
Published
May 05, 2026
Tracked Since
May 06, 2026