Skip to main content

PowerDNS Recursor CVE-2025-59029

MEDIUM
Reachable Assertion (CWE-617)
N/A vendor:alpine
5.3
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: vendor:alpine
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Unknown attack vector
  2. Exploit
    Exploit uncharacterized flaw in pdns-recursor
  3. Impact
    Unknown impact

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Reachable assertion handling
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation conditions cannot be determined from available data. No CVSS vector is provided to indicate attack vector (network, adjacent, local), complexity, or privilege requirements. No description details specify configuration prerequisites, affected features, or required deployment modes. Authentication requirements are not confirmed from available data. The only confirmed fact is that a fix exists in Alpine package 5.3.1-r1, which implies the vulnerability exists in prior versions of the Alpine pdns-recursor package.

Impact

Risk assessment is severely constrained by data scarcity. No CVSS vector is available, meaning attack vector, complexity, privilege requirements, and scope are all unconfirmed. No CWE is assigned, so the root cause class is unknown. EPSS places this at 0.01% exploitation probability (1st percentile), which is a strong signal for very low near-term exploitation risk. There is no CISA KEV listing and no public exploit identified. The sole confirmed data point is the existence of a vendor-issued fix in Alpine package 5.3.1-r1. Overall, available signals suggest low urgency, but the absence of technical detail means defenders cannot independently verify severity - priority should be determined once a vendor advisory with CVSS and CWE is published.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

Due to the absence of CVSS vector, CWE classification, and any technical description beyond the fix notice, a grounded exploit scenario cannot be constructed. No public exploit or proof-of-concept has been identified. Any scenario constructed here would be speculative and potentially misleading to security teams.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – May 27, 2026

PowerDNS Recursor (pdns-recursor) on Alpine Linux contains an uncharacterized vulnerability addressed in Alpine package version 5.3.1-r1. The nature, impact class, and attack surface of this vulnerability are not disclosed in available intelligence sources. With an EPSS score of 0.01% (1st percentile), exploitation probability is assessed as extremely low at this time. No active exploitation or public proof-of-concept has been identified.

RemediationAI

Upgrade the pdns-recursor Alpine Linux package to version 5.3.1-r1 or later using the standard Alpine package manager: 'apk upgrade pdns-recursor'. This is the vendor-confirmed fix per Alpine Linux security reporting. No specific workarounds are documented in available data. Because the vulnerability type is unknown, compensating controls cannot be precisely scoped - generic DNS hardening such as restricting recursor access to trusted client IP ranges (allow-from ACL) and disabling unnecessary features may reduce exposure but have not been confirmed as mitigations for this specific issue. Consult the PowerDNS upstream advisory (powerdns.com/security-advisories) and Alpine Linux security tracker for additional guidance once further details are published.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

pdns-recursor is PowerDNS's recursive DNS resolver, responsible for resolving DNS queries on behalf of clients by iterating through authoritative name servers. It is widely deployed in enterprise and ISP environments. The Alpine Linux package designation 5.3.1-r1 indicates the upstream PowerDNS Recursor version is 5.3.1 with Alpine-specific packaging revision 1. No CWE classification is available to characterize the root cause vulnerability class. No CPE strings were provided to further scope affected configurations. The vulnerability context - whether it affects DNS query processing, zone handling, cache logic, or an auxiliary component - cannot be determined from available data.

Know when Recursor gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

Vendor (vendor:alpine) PRIMARY 5.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Primary rating from Vendor (vendor:alpine) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: vendor:alpine

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

Lifecycle Timeline

1
CVSS changed
Oct 07, 2026 - 20:22 NVD
5.3 (MEDIUM)

DescriptionCVE.org

Alpine Linux: pdns-recursor fixed in 5.3.1-r1

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 99% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

26
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +26
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:5.3.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:recursor:5.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2019-3807 CRITICAL
9.8 Jan 29

An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor versions 4.1.x before 4.1.9 where records in the answer section of response

CVE-2020-10030 HIGH
8.8 May 19

An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulne

CVE-2025-59023 HIGH
8.2 Feb 09

Crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations in Recursor. [CVSS 8.2 HIGH]

CVE-2019-3806 HIGH
8.1 Jan 29

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-2015-1868 HIGH
7.8 May 18

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 Authori

CVE-2015-5470 HIGH
7.8 Nov 02

The label decompression functionality in PowerDNS Recursor before 3.6.4 and 3.7.x before 3.7.3 and Authoritative (Auth)

CVE-2025-59030 HIGH
7.5

Remote, unauthenticated denial of service against PowerDNS Recursor allows a network-reachable attacker to consume or ex

CVE-2026-33256 HIGH
7.5 Apr 22

PowerDNS Recursor can be driven into memory exhaustion by a single crafted HTTP request to its built-in internal web ser

CVE-2023-22617 HIGH
7.5 Jan 21

A remote attacker might be able to cause infinite recursion in PowerDNS Recursor 4.8.0 via a DNS query that retrieves DS

CVE-2022-27227 HIGH
7.5 Mar 25

In PowerDNS Authoritative Server before 4.4.3, 4.5.x before 4.5.4, and 4.6.x before 4.6.1 and PowerDNS Recursor before 4

CVE-2020-25829 HIGH
7.5 Oct 16

An issue has been found in PowerDNS Recursor before 4.1.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.5, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. Rated high sever

CVE-2020-10995 HIGH
7.5 May 19

PowerDNS Recursor from 4.1.0 up to and including 4.3.0 does not sufficiently defend against amplification attacks. Rated

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy