Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
OOM-induced process crash constitutes complete availability loss (A:H); all other metrics align with the unauthenticated network vector.
Primary rating from Vendor (open-xchange).
CVSS VectorVendor: open-xchange
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
An attacker can send crafted DNS over HTTP/3 queries, triggering an exception that prevents some buffer from being freed right away. The buffer will be freed at the end of the QUIC connection, but on some setups it might be possible to open enough concurrent DoH3 streams to trigger an out-of-memory condition, resulting in a denial of service.
AnalysisAI
Denial of service in PowerDNS dnsdist's DNS over HTTP/3 (DoH3) handler allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exhaust server memory by opening high volumes of concurrent QUIC streams carrying crafted queries. Each crafted query triggers an exception that defers buffer deallocation until QUIC connection teardown rather than releasing memory promptly, enabling cumulative memory exhaustion across simultaneous streams. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, and the attack surface is limited to instances with DoH3 explicitly enabled.
Technical ContextAI
dnsdist is a high-performance DNS load balancer and proxy developed by PowerDNS (Open-Xchange), widely used by ISPs, DNS operators, and carriers. DNS over HTTP/3 (DoH3) layers DNS query transport over the QUIC protocol, which natively supports multiplexed concurrent streams over a single connection - a property this vulnerability directly weaponizes. When a crafted HTTP/3 DNS query triggers an exception in dnsdist's DoH3 request-handling path, the memory buffer associated with that request is not freed at the point of exception but is instead deferred to the QUIC connection's teardown phase. No CWE was formally assigned in the NVD entry, but the root cause is consistent with CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) combined with CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption): the deferred free mechanism is the proximate bug, while QUIC multiplexing provides the amplification vector that makes memory exhaustion achievable. CPE data was not provided; affected version ranges must be confirmed via the vendor advisory.
RemediationAI
Upgrade dnsdist to the patched version specified in the PowerDNS security advisory at https://www.dnsdist.org/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-for-dnsdist-2026-09.html - the exact fixed release version is not independently confirmed from available input data, so the advisory must be consulted for the precise target version. As an immediately actionable compensating control, disable the DoH3 (DNS over HTTP/3 over QUIC) listener on any dnsdist instance where this feature is not operationally required; this eliminates the attack surface entirely with no impact on traditional DNS or DoH (HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2) traffic. If DoH3 must remain enabled, consider rate-limiting concurrent QUIC streams per source IP at the network perimeter or within dnsdist's own configuration to limit the amplification potential; note that aggressive stream limits may degrade legitimate high-volume DoH3 clients. Memory limits on the dnsdist process (e.g., via systemd MemoryMax or cgroups) can serve as a last-resort backstop to contain blast radius but will not prevent denial of service - they will merely bound collateral damage to the host.
Same technique Denial Of Service
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Moderate| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-39350
GHSA-8mqg-g8g6-fvw6