CVE-2026-55990
MEDIUMDescription
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.7.0 up to and including 1.25.1, when the 'dnscrypt:' clause lists more 'dnscrypt-provider-cert:' files than there are matching 'dnscrypt-secret-key:' files, Unbound fills only the matched prefix and leaves the tail slots at the '0xdb' fill that libsodium's allocator writes into every allocation. Unbound would then iterate over the number of cert files, not the actual slots, so it walks into a slot with garbage data filled with '0xdb' bytes. Any unauthenticated client that sends one UDP datagram of ≥ 68 bytes whose first 8 bytes are '0xdb' to 'dnscrypt-port' will use that garbage entry which leads to a garbage dereference killing the server. This is a silent faulty configuration that goes unnoticed until triggered with the right client query. Unbound needs to be compiled with DNSCrypt support ('--enable-dnscrypt').
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 17% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-457 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-5777 | High | 7.5 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2009-0901 | High | 8.8 | 37% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-40418 | Critical | 9.8 | 18% | - | - |
| CVE-2019-11038 | Medium | 5.3 | 4.3% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2021-31435 | High | 7.8 | 2.8% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-46570 | High | 7.8 | 2.1% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-55990?
Published advisories record a fix for 3 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2026-55990 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-55990 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.26% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 17% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-55990?
CVE-2026-55990 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.9, rated moderate. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2026-55990 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for unbound (Debian), unbound (Red Hat / RHEL), unbound (Rocky). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-07-24.