A buffer boundary check assertion in rdataset.c can fail incorrectly during zone transfer

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Summary

CVECVE-2020-8619
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerisc
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2020-06-17 22:15:13 UTC
Updated2026-09-01 20:57:40 UTC
DescriptionIn ISC BIND9 versions BIND 9.11.14 -> 9.11.19, BIND 9.14.9 -> 9.14.12, BIND 9.16.0 -> 9.16.3, BIND Supported Preview Edition 9.11.14-S1 -> 9.11.19-S1: Unless a nameserver is providing authoritative service for one or more zones and at least one zone contains an empty non-terminal entry containing an asterisk ("*") character, this defect cannot be encountered. A would-be attacker who is allowed to change zone content could theoretically introduce such a record in order to exploit this condition to cause denial of service, though we consider the use of this vector unlikely because any such attack would require a significant privilege level and be easily traceable.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.9 MEDIUM from [email protected]

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

EPSS: 0.021050000 probability, percentile 0.804840000 (date 2026-09-03)

Problem Types: CWE-404 | The asterisk character ("*") is allowed in DNS zone files, where it is most commonly present as a wildcard at a terminal node of the Domain Name System graph. However, the RFCs do not require and BIND does not enforce that an asterisk character be present only at a terminal node. A problem can occur when an asterisk is present in an empty non-terminal location within the DNS graph. If such a node exists, after a series of queries, named can reach an inconsistent state that results in the failure of an assertion check in rbtdb.c, followed by the program exiting due to the assertion failure. Versions affected: BIND 9.11.14 -> 9.11.19, BIND 9.14.9 -> 9.14.12, BIND 9.16.0 -> 9.16.3. Also, versions 9.11.14-S1 -> 9.11.19-S1 of BIND Supported Preview Edition

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary4.9MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1[email protected]Secondary4.9MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED4.9MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.0[email protected]Primary4AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Network
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 20.04 All All All
Operating System Debian Debian Linux 10.0 All All All
Operating System Fedoraproject Fedora 31 All All All
Operating System Fedoraproject Fedora 32 All All All
Application Isc Bind All All All All
Application Isc Bind All All All All
Application Isc Bind All All All All
Application Isc Bind All All All All
Application Netapp Steelstore Cloud Integrated Storage - All All All
Operating System Opensuse Leap 15.1 All All All
Operating System Opensuse Leap 15.2 All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA ISC BIND9 affected 9.11.14 through versions before 9.11.20 Not specified
CNA ISC BIND9 affected 9.16.0 through versions before 9.16.4 Not specified
CNA ISC BIND9 affected 9.11.14-S1 through versions before 9.11.20-S1 Not specified
CNA ISC BIND9 affected 9.14.9 through versions 9.14.12 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
USN-4399-1: Bind vulnerabilities | Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 usn.ubuntu.com Third Party Advisory
June 2020 ISC BIND Vulnerabilities in NetApp Products | NetApp Product Security af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 security.netapp.com Third Party Advisory
CVE-2020-8619: An asterisk character in an empty non-terminal can cause an assertion failure in rbtdb.c - Security Advisories af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 kb.isc.org Vendor Advisory
[security-announce] openSUSE-SU-2020:1699-1: moderate: Security update f af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.opensuse.org Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
[SECURITY] Fedora 31 Update: bind-9.11.20-1.fc31 - package-announce - Fedora Mailing-Lists af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.fedoraproject.org
Debian -- Security Information -- DSA-4752-1 bind9 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.debian.org Third Party Advisory
[SECURITY] Fedora 32 Update: bind-9.11.20-1.fc32 - package-announce - Fedora Mailing-Lists af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.fedoraproject.org
[security-announce] openSUSE-SU-2020:1701-1: moderate: Security update f af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.opensuse.org Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
[SECURITY] Fedora 32 Update: bind-9.11.20-1.fc32 - package-announce - Fedora Mailing-Lists MITRE lists.fedoraproject.org
[SECURITY] Fedora 31 Update: bind-9.11.20-1.fc31 - package-announce - Fedora Mailing-Lists MITRE lists.fedoraproject.org
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Additional Advisory Data

Solutions

CNA: Upgrade to the patched release most closely related to your current version of BIND: BIND 9.11.20 BIND 9.16.4 BIND Supported Preview Edition is a special feature preview branch of BIND provided to eligible ISC support customers. BIND 9.11.20-S1

Workarounds

CNA: None

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 296073 Oracle Solaris 11.4 Support Repository Update (SRU) 24.75.2 Missing (CPUJUL2020)
  • 500063 Alpine Linux Security Update for bind
  • 503742 Alpine Linux Security Update for bind
  • 900157 CBL-Mariner Linux Security Update for bind 9.16.3
  • 903275 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for bind (1834)

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