How severe is CVE-2017-15120?

CVE-2017-15120 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-15120 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 52% (99th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-15120?

CVE-2017-15120 primarily affects Powerdns Recursor. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-15120?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2017-15120 published?

CVE-2017-15120 was published on 2018-07-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-15120

CVE-2017-15120 is a high-severity vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 52% places it in the 99th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 52% (99th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Powerdns Recursor
Published: 2018-07-27
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when parsing a specially crafted answer containing a CNAME of a different class than IN. An unauthenticated remote attacker could cause a denial of service.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-15120?: An issue has been found in the parsing of authoritative answers in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.0.8, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when parsing a specially crafted answer containing a CNAME of a different class than IN. An unauthenticated remote attacker could cause a denial of service.
How severe is CVE-2017-15120?: CVE-2017-15120 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-15120 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 52% (99th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-15120?: CVE-2017-15120 primarily affects Powerdns Recursor. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-15120?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2017-15120 published?: CVE-2017-15120 was published on 2018-07-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (3)

cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Powerdns Recursor

CVE-2009-4009 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Buffer overflow in PowerDNS Recursor before 3.1.7.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash)…
CVE-2020-10030 — High (CVSS 8.8): An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0. It allows an attacker (with enough…
CVE-2025-59023 — High (CVSS 8.2): Crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations in Recursor.
CVE-2019-3806 — High (CVSS 8.1): An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor versions after 4.1.3 before 4.1.9 where Lua hooks are not properly applied…
CVE-2015-5470 — High (CVSS 7.8): The label decompression functionality in PowerDNS Recursor before 3.6.4 and 3.7.x before 3.7.3 and Authoritative (Auth)…
CVE-2015-1868 — High (CVSS 7.8): The label decompression functionality in PowerDNS Recursor 3.5.x, 3.6.x before 3.6.3, and 3.7.x before 3.7.2 and…

All CVEs affecting Powerdns Recursor →

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