CVE-2011-0414: BIND -- Server Lockup Upon IXFR or DDNS Update Combined With High Query Rate

When an authoritative server processes a successful IXFR transfer or a dynamic update, there is a small window of time during which the IXFR/update coupled with a query may cause a deadlock to occur.

CVE: CVE-2011-0414

CERT: VU#559980

Document Version: 1.1

Posting Date: 22 Feb 2011

Program Impacted: BIND

Versions Affected: 9.7.1-9.7.2-P3

Severity: High

Exploitable: Remotely

Description

When an authoritative server processes a successful IXFR transfer or a dynamic update, there is a small window of time during which the IXFR/update coupled with a query may cause a deadlock to occur. This deadlock will cause the server to stop processing all requests. A high query rate and/or a high update rate will increase the probability of this condition.

CVSS Score: 7.1 (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C)

For more information on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System and to obtain your specific environmental score, please visit: https://nvd.nist.gov/cvss.cfm?calculator&adv&version=2

Workarounds

Depending on your performance requirements, a workaround may be available. ISC was not able to reproduce this defect in 9.7.2 using -n1, which causes named to use only one worker thread, thus avoiding the deadlock. If your server is powerful enough to serve your data with a single processor, this option may be fast enough to implement until you have time to perform an upgrade.

Active Exploits: None known, but a description of the issue is available in the release notes for BIND 9.6.3 and 9.7.3.

Solution

If you run BIND 9.7.1 or 9.7.2, upgrade to BIND 9.7.3. Earlier versions are not vulnerable. If you run BIND 9.6.x, 9.6-ESV-Rx, or 9.4-ESV-R4, you do not need to upgrade. BIND 9.5 is End of Life and is not supported by ISC. BIND 9.8 is not vulnerable.

Credits: Thank you to Neustar for finding the initial defect and JPRS for further testing and analysis.

Do you have questions? Questions regarding this advisory should go to security-officer@isc.org.

Do you need software support? Questions on ISC's Support services or other offerings should be sent to sales@isc.org. More information on ISC's support and other offerings is available at: https://www.isc.org/bind-subscription-2/.

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