CVE-2026-33489 HIGH

CVE-2026-33489: CoreDNS transfer plugin subzone ACL bypass via lexicographic zone comparison

Vendor Coredns
Product coredns
Weakness CWE-863 · Incorrect authorization
Published May 5, 2026
Last update May 5, 2026

CVSS base score

8.2/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality
Integrity

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

CoreDNS is a DNS server that chains plugins. In versions prior to 1.14.3, the transfer plugin can select the wrong ACL stanza when both a parent zone and a more-specific subzone are configured. The longestMatch() function in plugin/transfer/transfer.go uses a lexicographic string comparison instead of an actual longest-suffix match to select the winning zone. As a result, a permissive parent-zone transfer rule can override a restrictive subzone rule depending on zone name ordering (e.g., "example.org." > "a.example.org." lexicographically). This allows an unauthorized remote client to perform AXFR/IXFR for the subzone and retrieve its full zone contents. This issue has been fixed in version 1.14.3.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

May 5, 2026 CVE published
May 5, 2026 Record updated