CVE-2026-123599

Hickory DNS hickory-resolver 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 contains an unbounded retry loop in NameServerPool::try_send that re-queues truncated (TC) responses without checking the answering transport or counting iterations. A malicious authoritative server returning TC=1 on every transport keeps the resolver spinning on a persistent TCP connection until the 5-second request deadline expires, causing resource exhaustion.

hickory-proto and hickory-resolver 0.26.0 before 0.26.2, hickory-server 0.25.0-alpha.1 before 0.26.2, and hickory-recursor 0.25.0-alpha.3 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 fail to canonicalize IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses when checking deny_answers, deny_server, or AccessControlSet rules. Attackers can use IPv4-mapped addresses to evade answer filtering, trigger queries to denied nameservers, or reach hickory-server library deployments on dual-stack IPv6 sockets from denied clients.

The Hickory DNS recursor in all versions of hickory-recursor and in hickory-resolver 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 (recursor feature) is vulnerable to ghost domain names attacks because it reuses child-side apex NS RRsets cached from zone NS queries for iterative resolution. By repeatedly querying a zone's NS records, an attacker keeps the stale RRset cached indefinitely, letting name servers whose delegation the parent revoked keep answering for the zone.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25.0 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 invert the relational operators in the wrap-around branch of find_covering_record() in nsec3.rs, so the last NSEC3 record in a zone's hash ring covers every hash except its owner. Attackers able to inject DNS responses can replay that NSEC3 record and its RRSIG to forge DNSSEC-validated negative responses denying legitimate names.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25.0-alpha.3 through 0.25.2 and hickory-net 0.26.0-alpha.1 before 0.26.2 contain a DNSSEC validation flaw in DnssecDnsHandle that accepts NSEC3-signed NODATA responses for zone-apex queries as secure without an NSEC3 record matching the hashed QNAME. On-path attackers or malicious authoritative servers can replay a validly signed non-apex NSEC3 with the zone's signed SOA to serve an authenticated (AD=1) denial of any apex RRtype for the negative-cache TTL.

The validating recursor in Hickory DNS hickory-recursor 0.25.0 through 0.26.0-alpha.1, hickory-resolver 0.26.0-alpha.1 before 0.26.2, and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 caches DNSSEC-bogus answers using the untrusted, attacker-supplied record TTL (capped at 24 hours) instead of a short validation-failure TTL. A remote attacker who spoofs a single authoritative response with an invalid signature and a long TTL can keep the bogus result cached for up to 24 hours.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25.0-alpha.1 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net before 0.26.2 contain a logic bug in DnssecDnsHandle's DS-fetch path that caches transient DS lookup errors as Bogus DNSSEC validation verdicts. An attacker who induces a SERVFAIL, REFUSED, or timeout response to a child-zone DS sub-query causes the validator to return SERVFAIL for all names under that zone until the cache entry's TTL expires.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 contain a DNSSEC validation flaw in the validating recursor's NSEC handler that accepts parent-side ancestor-delegation NSEC records as proof of nonexistence for names below the zone cut. An on-path attacker, rogue parent nameserver, or attacker winning a port and TXID race can deliver one forged NXDOMAIN response built from genuinely signed parent NSEC records, causing authenticated denial of existing child-zone names cached for the negative TTL.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 contain a DNSSEC validation flaw in the validating recursor's NSEC3 handler, which matches the closest encloser by hash alone without checking the type bitmap and so accepts parent-side ancestor-delegation NSEC3 records as proof of nonexistence. An attacker who delivers one response built from genuinely signed parent NSEC3 records can cause NXDOMAIN or NODATA to be cached with AD=1, denying resolution of existing names at and below the zone cut.

Hickory DNS hickory-proto through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 contain an NSEC validation flaw that returns a secure proof for NXDOMAIN responses when the covering NSEC's Next Domain Name is a strict descendant of the query name, which actually proves the name exists as an empty non-terminal. On-path attackers can flip the unsigned rcode of a genuine signed NODATA response from NOERROR to NXDOMAIN, causing validators to accept forged nonexistence of the name.