CVE-2026-55991

In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.25.1, a remote unauthenticated client can trigger a libngtcp2 assertion (if compiled with assertions on) and terminate the entire Unbound process using a single DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) connection and one normal DNS query. This is caused by an erroneous error value passed to libngtcp2. When 'ngtcp2_conn_writev_stream()' returns 'NGTCP2_ERR_STREAM_DATA_BLOCKED', Unbound continues to call 'ngtcp2_ccerr_set_application_error()' with a '-1' error value. The 'int' literal '-1' is implicitly converted to the function's 'uint64_t error_code' parameter as '0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF'. The follow-on 'ngtcp2_conn_write_connection_close()' serialises that value as a QUIC variable-length integer; because '2^64-1' exceeds the 62-bit varint ceiling, 'ngtcp2_put_uvarintlen()' fails 'assert(n < 4611686018427387904ULL)' and the whole resolver process aborts. A remote, unauthenticated DoQ client can trigger this deterministically with a single QUIC connection by advertising 'initial_max_stream_data_bidi_local = 1' in its transport parameters and sending one DoQ query without ever reading the stream.

CVSS v3 5.9 MEDIUM

5.9^/10

CVSS v3 : MEDIUM

Vector :

Exploitability : 2.2 / Impact : 3.6

Attack Vector NETWORK

Attack Complexity HIGH

Privileges Required NONE

User Interaction NONE

Confidentiality Impact NONE

Integrity Impact NONE

Availability Impact HIGH

Scope UNCHANGED

References

Link	Resource
https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-55991.txt

Configurations

No configuration.

History

22 Jul 2026, 14:17

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
New CVE

Information

Published : 2026-07-22 14:17

Updated : 2026-07-22 20:33

NVD link : CVE-2026-55991

Mitre link : CVE-2026-55991

CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-55991

JSON object : View

Products Affected

No product.

CWE

CWE-195

Signed to Unsigned Conversion Error

{"id": "CVE-2026-55991", "cveTags": [], "metrics": {"ssvcV203": [{"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "ssvcData": {"id": "CVE-2026-55991", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [{"exploitation": "none"}, {"automatable": "no"}, {"technicalImpact": "partial"}], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2026-07-22T14:01:59.779165Z"}}], "cvssMetricV31": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "sep@nlnetlabs.nl", "cvssData": {"scope": "UNCHANGED", "version": "3.1", "baseScore": 5.9, "attackVector": "NETWORK", "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H", "integrityImpact": "NONE", "userInteraction": "NONE", "attackComplexity": "HIGH", "availabilityImpact": "HIGH", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"}, "impactScore": 3.6, "exploitabilityScore": 2.2}]}, "affected": [{"source": "sep@nlnetlabs.nl", "affectedData": [{"vendor": "NLnet Labs", "product": "Unbound", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "1.22.0", "lessThan": "1.25.2", "versionType": "semver"}], "defaultStatus": "unaffected"}]}], "published": "2026-07-22T14:17:21.957", "references": [{"url": "https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/unbound/CVE-2026-55991.txt", "source": "sep@nlnetlabs.nl"}], "vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis", "weaknesses": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "sep@nlnetlabs.nl", "description": [{"lang": "en", "value": "CWE-195"}]}], "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.22.0 up to and including 1.25.1, a remote unauthenticated client can trigger a libngtcp2 assertion (if compiled with assertions on) and terminate the entire Unbound process using a single DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) connection and one normal DNS query. This is caused by an erroneous error value passed to libngtcp2. When 'ngtcp2_conn_writev_stream()' returns 'NGTCP2_ERR_STREAM_DATA_BLOCKED', Unbound continues to call 'ngtcp2_ccerr_set_application_error()' with a '-1' error value. The 'int' literal '-1' is implicitly converted to the function's 'uint64_t error_code' parameter as '0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF'. The follow-on 'ngtcp2_conn_write_connection_close()' serialises that value as a QUIC variable-length integer; because '2^64-1' exceeds the 62-bit varint ceiling, 'ngtcp2_put_uvarintlen()' fails 'assert(n < 4611686018427387904ULL)' and the whole resolver process aborts. A remote, unauthenticated DoQ client can trigger this deterministically with a single QUIC connection by advertising 'initial_max_stream_data_bidi_local = 1' in its transport parameters and sending one DoQ query without ever reading the stream."}], "lastModified": "2026-07-22T20:33:11.590", "sourceIdentifier": "sep@nlnetlabs.nl"}