DNS Cookie bypass when combined with proxy-protocol use
CVE-2026-54478 is fixed in unbound on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54478, released July 28, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.18.0 up to and including 1.25.1, when Unbound listens on a 'proxy-protocol-port' interface with 'answer-cookie: yes', the RFC 9018 server-cookie SipHash is computed over the proxy's wire address instead of the PROXYv2-declared client. One server cookie obtained through a given proxy node therefore validates for every PROXYv2-declared source behind that node. On a UDP+proxy-protocol front, an off-path attacker can harvest one cookie with a single legitimate query, then replay it under any spoofed source and pass DNS Cookie checks that were deployed to defeat this in the first place.
Where it's fixed
| Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | |||
| unbound · Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 1.26.1-0+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54478 | Jul 28, 2026 |
| unbound · Debian 14 | 1.25.2-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54478 | Jul 28, 2026 |
| unbound · opensuse-leap 16.0 | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21550-1 | Aug 10, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 15.6 | 1.25.2-150600.23.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 15.7 | 1.25.2-150600.23.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3885-1 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 16.0 | 1.25.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23226-1 | Aug 10, 2026 |
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