A vulnerable BIND 9 resolver (version 9.18.39) accepts and caches resource records that were not requested in the original DNS query. An off-path attacker who can race or spoof responses may inject forged address data into the resolver cache. Once poisoned, subsequent clients are redirected to attacker-controlled infrastructure without triggering fresh lookups. The issue is tracked as CVE-2025-40778 and carries a published CVSS v3.1 score of 8.6 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N).
- Product: BIND 9 recursive resolver
- Version tested: 9.18.39 (affected)
- Known affected ranges:
- 9.11.0 – 9.16.50