CVE-2023-50868

HIGH
Published Feb 14, 2024 Modified Dec 23, 2025 CWE-400

Description

The Closest Encloser Proof aspect of the DNS protocol (in RFC 5155 when RFC 9276 guidance is skipped) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption for SHA-1 computations) via DNSSEC responses in a random subdomain attack, aka the "NSEC3" issue. The RFC 5155 specification implies that an algorithm must perform thousands of iterations of a hash function in certain situations.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2023-50868?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Affected Products

Vendor Product
isc bind
isc bind
isc bind
isc bind
isc bind
fedoraproject fedora
fedoraproject fedora
debian debian_linux
debian debian_linux
redhat enterprise_linux
redhat enterprise_linux
redhat enterprise_linux
redhat enterprise_linux
redhat enterprise_linux
powerdns recursor
powerdns recursor
powerdns recursor
netapp bootstrap_os
netapp hci_compute_node
netapp active_iq_unified_manager
netapp hci_baseboard_management_controller
netapp h300s
netapp h410c
netapp h410s
netapp h500s
netapp h700s

References

Advisories & Patches

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-50868 https://docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2024-01.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00006.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/05/msg00011.html https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6FV5O347JTX7P5OZA6NGO4MKTXRXMKOZ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BUIP7T7Z4T3UHLXFWG6XIVDP4GYPD3AI/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HVRDSJVZKMCXKKPP6PNR62T7RWZ3YSDZ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/IGSLGKUAQTW5JPPZCMF5YPEYALLRUZZ6/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PNNHZSZPG2E7NBMBNYPGHCFI4V4XRWNQ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RGS7JN6FZXUSTC2XKQHH27574XOULYYJ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SVYA42BLXUCIDLD35YIJPJSHDIADNYMP/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TEXGOYGW7DBS3N2QSSQONZ4ENIRQEAPG/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UQESRWMJCF4JEYJEAKLRM6CT55GLJAB7/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZDZFMEKQTZ4L7RY46FCENWFB5MDT263R/ https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240307-0008/ https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-50868 https://docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2024-01.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00006.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/05/msg00011.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/09/msg00001.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/11/msg00035.html https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6FV5O347JTX7P5OZA6NGO4MKTXRXMKOZ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BUIP7T7Z4T3UHLXFWG6XIVDP4GYPD3AI/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HVRDSJVZKMCXKKPP6PNR62T7RWZ3YSDZ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/IGSLGKUAQTW5JPPZCMF5YPEYALLRUZZ6/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PNNHZSZPG2E7NBMBNYPGHCFI4V4XRWNQ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RGS7JN6FZXUSTC2XKQHH27574XOULYYJ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SVYA42BLXUCIDLD35YIJPJSHDIADNYMP/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TEXGOYGW7DBS3N2QSSQONZ4ENIRQEAPG/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UQESRWMJCF4JEYJEAKLRM6CT55GLJAB7/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZDZFMEKQTZ4L7RY46FCENWFB5MDT263R/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/BUIP7T7Z4T3UHLXFWG6XIVDP4GYPD3AI/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/HVRDSJVZKMCXKKPP6PNR62T7RWZ3YSDZ/ https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/ZDZFMEKQTZ4L7RY46FCENWFB5MDT263R/ https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240307-0008/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-50868? +
The Closest Encloser Proof aspect of the DNS protocol (in RFC 5155 when RFC 9276 guidance is skipped) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption for SHA-1 computations) via DNSSEC responses in a random subdomain attack, aka the "NSEC3" issue. The RFC 5155 specification implies that an algorithm must perform thousands of iterations of a hash function in certain situations. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2023-50868? +
CVE-2023-50868 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-50868? +
CVE-2023-50868 affects products from debian, fedoraproject, isc, netapp, powerdns, redhat, specifically: active_iq_unified_manager, bind, bootstrap_os, debian_linux, enterprise_linux, fedora, h300s, h410c, h410s, h500s, h700s, hci_baseboard_management_controller, hci_compute_node, recursor. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-50868? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

Don't wait for an exploit

Scan your website for vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-50868 — free, no signup required.