Use-after-free in DoQ stream output buffer on reset re-transmission
CVE-2026-78227 is fixed in unbound on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-78227, released September 19, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.
NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.26.1, has a use-after-free vulnerability when compiled for DNS-over-QUIC support with '--with-libngtcp2'. Each DoQ stream owns an output buffer that holds the DNS response. ngtcp2's retransmission buffer keeps a shallow pointer into the output buffer for as long as a STREAM frame may be resent. On a client RESET_STREAM, the output buffer is freed but ngtcp2 still holds the matching retransmission entries. The next PTO timeout makes ngtcp2 re-encode the STREAM frame and copy from the freed buffer. A malicious actor that can query Unbound over DoQ and that withholds ACKs, sends RESET_STREAM, and waits for PTO, reaches this use-after-free with no privilege. This leads to retransmissions against freed memory and eventually an abnormal server exit under a 20-query spray.
Where it's fixed
| Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | |||
| unbound · Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 1.26.1-0+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-78227 | Sep 19, 2026 |
| unbound · Debian 14 | 1.26.1-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-78227 | Sep 19, 2026 |
| unbound · opensuse-leap 16.0 | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | OPENSUSE-SU-2026:22082-1 | Nov 7, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 15.6 | 1.26.1-150600.23.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 | Nov 7, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 15.7 | 1.26.1-150600.23.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4620-1 | Nov 7, 2026 |
| unbound · sles 16.0 | 1.26.1-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:24226-1 | Nov 7, 2026 |
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