# CVE-2026-12969: Dnsmasq: dnsmasq: out-of-bounds read in find_soa() due to missing extrabytes validation

CVE-2026-12969 is fixed in 4 products on 1 platform, first by dnsmasq 2.92-1ubuntu0.4, released June 23, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12969
- Priority: Routine
- CVSS: 5.3 (Moderate)
- EPSS: 0.0026
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Jun 23, 2026
- Weakness: Out-of-bounds Read
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-12969

## Description

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in dnsmasq's find_soa() function in src/rfc1035.c. When parsing NS section records, extract_name() is called with extrabytes=0, failing to validate that 10 additional bytes exist for fixed-length DNS record fields. A remote attacker controlling a DNS zone can exploit this via a crafted NXDOMAIN response to cause a 10-byte heap out-of-bounds read, potentially accessing stale data from prior transactions.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | dnsmasq Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 2.91-1+deb13u2 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-12969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-12969.md) | Jun 24, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Debian 14 | 2.93-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-12969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-12969.md) | Jun 24, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4 | [dnsmasq 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-dnsmasq-2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1-esm4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3 | [dnsmasq 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-focal-dnsmasq-2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1-esm3.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (jammy) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 | [dnsmasq 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-jammy-dnsmasq-2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS (noble) | 2.90-2ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq 2.90-2ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-noble-dnsmasq-2.90-2ubuntu0.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS (resolute) | 2.92-1ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq 2.92-1ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-resolute-dnsmasq-2.92-1ubuntu0.4.md) | Jun 23, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq sles 15.6 | 2.93-150400.16.17.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:3028-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-3028-1.md) | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq sles 15.7 | 2.93-150400.16.17.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:3028-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-3028-1.md) | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4 | [dnsmasq-base 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-dnsmasq-base-2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1-esm4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3 | [dnsmasq-base 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-focal-dnsmasq-base-2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1-esm3.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (jammy) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 | [dnsmasq-base 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-jammy-dnsmasq-base-2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS (noble) | 2.90-2ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-base 2.90-2ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-noble-dnsmasq-base-2.90-2ubuntu0.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS (resolute) | 2.92-1ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-base 2.92-1ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-resolute-dnsmasq-base-2.92-1ubuntu0.4.md) | Jun 23, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base-lua Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4 | [dnsmasq-base-lua 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-dnsmasq-base-lua-2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1-esm4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base-lua Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3 | [dnsmasq-base-lua 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-focal-dnsmasq-base-lua-2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1-esm3.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base-lua Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (jammy) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 | [dnsmasq-base-lua 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-jammy-dnsmasq-base-lua-2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base-lua Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS (noble) | 2.90-2ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-base-lua 2.90-2ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-noble-dnsmasq-base-lua-2.90-2ubuntu0.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-base-lua Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS (resolute) | 2.92-1ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-base-lua 2.92-1ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-resolute-dnsmasq-base-lua-2.92-1ubuntu0.4.md) | Jun 23, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-utils Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4 | [dnsmasq-utils 2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-dnsmasq-utils-2.90-0ubuntu0.18.04.1-esm4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-utils Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3 | [dnsmasq-utils 2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm3](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-focal-dnsmasq-utils-2.90-0ubuntu0.20.04.1-esm3.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-utils Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (jammy) | 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 | [dnsmasq-utils 2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-jammy-dnsmasq-utils-2.90-0ubuntu0.22.04.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-utils Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS (noble) | 2.90-2ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-utils 2.90-2ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-noble-dnsmasq-utils-2.90-2ubuntu0.4.md) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| Linux | dnsmasq-utils Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS (resolute) | 2.92-1ubuntu0.4 | [dnsmasq-utils 2.92-1ubuntu0.4](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-resolute-dnsmasq-utils-2.92-1ubuntu0.4.md) | Jun 23, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T00:53:09Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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