CVE-2026-33489

HIGH

CoreDNS transfer plugin subzone ACL bypass via lexicographic zone comparison

Title source: cna
STIX 2.1

Description

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

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