How severe is CVE-2023-22617?

CVE-2023-22617 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-2023-22617 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 7% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-22617?

CVE-2023-22617 affects Powerdns Recursor. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-22617?

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-2023-22617 published?

CVE-2023-22617 was published on 2023-01-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-22617

CVE-2023-22617 is a high-severity vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-674.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 7% (94th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-674
Affected product: Powerdns Recursor
Published: 2023-01-21
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A remote attacker might be able to cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 via a DNS query that retrieves DS records for a misconfigured domain, because QName minimization is used in QM fallback mode. This is fixed in 4.8.1.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-22617?: A remote attacker might be able to cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 via a DNS query that retrieves DS records for a misconfigured domain, because QName minimization is used in QM fallback mode. This is fixed in 4.8.1.
How severe is CVE-2023-22617?: CVE-2023-22617 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-2023-22617 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 7% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-22617?: CVE-2023-22617 affects Powerdns Recursor. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-22617?: 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-2023-22617 published?: CVE-2023-22617 was published on 2023-01-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:4.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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…

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