CVE-2016-6172
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2016-6172 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2016-09-26 16:59:04 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-06 22:30:45 UTC |
| Description | PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 4.0.1 allows remote primary DNS servers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion and secondary DNS server crash) via a large (1) AXFR or (2) IXFR response. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.0 6.8 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.000190000 probability, percentile 0.052470000 (date 2026-05-07)
Problem Types: CWE-400 | n/a
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | [email protected] | Primary | 6.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 2.0 | [email protected] | Primary | 7.1 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C |
CVSS v3.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
ChangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS v2.0 Breakdown
Access Vector
NetworkAccess Complexity
MediumAuthentication
NoneConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
CompleteAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| [dns-operations] DNS activities in Japan | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | lists.dns-oarc.net | Mailing List, Third Party Advisory |
| PowerDNS AXFR/IXFR Response Processing Bug Lets Remote DNS Servers Cause the Target DNS Service to Crash - SecurityTracker | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.securitytracker.com | |
| Multiple DNS Servers Remote Denial of Service Vulnerability | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.securityfocus.com | |
| Debian -- Security Information -- DSA-3664-1 pdns | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.debian.org | |
| openSUSE-SU-2016:2116-1: moderate: Security update for pdns | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | lists.opensuse.org | Third Party Advisory |
| Changelogs | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | doc.powerdns.com | Release Notes |
| oss-security - Malicious primary DNS servers can crash secondaries | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | Mailing List |
| Add limits to the size of received {A,I}XFR, in megabytes by rgacogne · Pull Request #4133 · PowerDNS/pdns · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | Issue Tracking |
| xfer-limit/README.md at master · sischkg/xfer-limit · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | Patch |
| xfer size issue · Issue #4128 · PowerDNS/pdns · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | Issue Tracking |
| Add limits to the size of received AXFR, in megabytes by rgacogne · Pull Request #4134 · PowerDNS/pdns · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | Issue Tracking |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.