cbcvebase.
CVE-2021-25216
published 2021-04-29

CVE-2021-25216: In BIND 9.5.0 -> 9.11.29, 9.12.0 -> 9.16.13, and versions BIND 9.11.3-S1 -> 9.11.29-S1 and 9.16.8-S1 -> 9.16.13-S1 of BIND Supported Preview Edition, as well…

PriorityP278critical9.8CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRNUINSUCHIHAH
EPSS
82.37%
99.6th percentile
In BIND 9.5.0 -> 9.11.29, 9.12.0 -> 9.16.13, and versions BIND 9.11.3-S1 -> 9.11.29-S1 and 9.16.8-S1 -> 9.16.13-S1 of BIND Supported Preview Edition, as well as release versions 9.17.0 -> 9.17.1 of the BIND 9.17 development branch, BIND servers are vulnerable if they are running an affected version and are configured to use GSS-TSIG features. In a configuration which uses BIND's default settings the vulnerable code path is not exposed, but a server can be rendered vulnerable by explicitly setting values for the tkey-gssapi-keytab or tkey-gssapi-credential configuration options. Although the default configuration is not vulnerable, GSS-TSIG is frequently used in networks where BIND is integrated with Samba, as well as in mixed-server environments that combine BIND servers with Active Directory domain controllers. For servers that meet these conditions, the ISC SPNEGO implementation is vulnerable to various attacks, depending on the CPU architecture for which BIND was built: For named binaries compiled for 64-bit platforms, this flaw can be used to trigger a buffer over-read, leading to a server crash. For named binaries compiled for 32-bit platforms, this flaw can be used to trigger a server crash due to a buffer overflow and possibly also to achieve remote code execution. We have determined that standard SPNEGO implementations are available in the MIT and Heimdal Kerberos libraries, which support a broad range of operating systems, rendering the ISC implementation unnecessary and obsolete. Therefore, to reduce the attack surface for BIND users, we will be removing the ISC SPNEGO implementation in the April releases of BIND 9.11 and 9.16 (it had already been dropped from BIND 9.17). We would not normally remove something from a stable ESV (Extended Support Version) of BIND, but since system libraries can replace the ISC SPNEGO implementation, we have made an exception in this case for reasons of stability and security.

Affected

39 ranges· showing 25
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
debianbind9< bind9 1:9.16.15-1 (bookworm)bind9 1:9.16.15-1 (bookworm)
debiandebian_linux
debiandebian_linux
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind
iscbind>= 9.0.0 < 9.11.319.11.31
iscbind>= 9.12.0 < 9.16.159.16.15
iscbind>= 9.17.0 < 9.17.129.17.12
iscbind9
iscbind9

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

  • BIND is only vulnerable when explicitly configured with GSS-TSIG options; detect presence of 'tkey-gssapi-keytab' or 'tkey-gssapi-credential' in named configuration files to identify exposed instances
  • On 32-bit BIND named binaries, the SPNEGO buffer overflow may enable remote code execution; prioritize detection and patching of 32-bit deployments
  • On 64-bit BIND named binaries, exploitation results in a buffer over-read and server crash (DoS); monitor for unexpected named process crashes as a potential exploitation indicator
  • Environments integrating BIND with Samba or Active Directory domain controllers are high-priority targets due to common GSS-TSIG usage in those configurations
  • ·The vulnerable code path is NOT exposed in BIND's default configuration; exploitation requires GSS-TSIG to be explicitly enabled via tkey-gssapi-keytab or tkey-gssapi-credential
  • ·Red Hat Enterprise Linux bind packages do not enable ISC SPNEGO and are therefore not affected, regardless of BIND version
  • ·Disabling GSS-TSIG features entirely (if another authentication mechanism is available for dynamic updates) is a viable mitigation

CVSS provenance

nvdv3.19.8CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvdv2.06.8MEDIUMAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
osv9.8CRITICAL
vendor_msrc9.8CRITICAL
vendor_debian8.1HIGH
vendor_redhat8.1HIGH
vendor_ubuntu6.5MEDIUM
Stop checking back — get the weekly exploitation signal.

Every Monday: what got weaponized or added to CISA KEV in the last seven days — each CVE cross-linked to its PoC, Nuclei template, and detection rule. Free, one email a week, unsubscribe in one click.