Low severity · published Jul 22, 2026
CVE-2026-54478
DNS Cookie bypass when combined with proxy-protocol use
3.7
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In NLnet Labs Unbound 1.18.0 up to and including 1.25.1, when Unbound listens on a 'proxy-protocol-port' interface with 'answer-cookie: yes', the RFC 9018 server-cookie SipHash is computed over the proxy's wire address instead of the PROXYv2-declared client. One server cookie obtained through a given proxy node therefore validates for every PROXYv2-declared source behind that node. On a UDP+proxy-protocol front, an off-path attacker can harvest one cookie with a single legitimate query, then replay it under any spoofed source and pass DNS Cookie checks that were deployed to defeat this in the first place.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 15% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
UN
Unbound · NLnet Labs
1.18.0 before 1.25.2 · source: vendor, NVD
Affected product
UN
Unbound
NLnet Labs
More from Unbound
10.0
CVE-2026-42960
Possible cache poisoning via promiscuous records for the authority section
9.8
CVE-2026-82717
CNAME synthesis could lead to heap corruption
9.8
CVE-2026-81642
Heap buffer overflow and possible Remote Code Execution when digesting DNSKEY
9.8
CVE-2026-33278
Possible arbitrary code execution during DNSSEC validation
9.3
CVE-2026-50252
Possible cache poisoning attack by mapping source port population per thread