CVE-2026-8674

Assertion failure in the DNS stub resolver with a long search domain

Published Sep 17, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.3 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Initializing the DNS stub resolver from an /etc/resolv.conf file, or a LOCALDOMAIN environment variable, whose search list contains a domain of roughly 200 characters or more in the GNU C Library version 2.26 to 2.44 results in an assertion failure which aborts the process.

The resolver truncates the search list when copying it into the fixed-size _res.defdname buffer, then asserts that the copy is consistent with the full configuration. The consistency check compared against the wrong size and did not handle a first entry that does not fit, so a correctly truncated list failed the assertion. Any process that resolves names through the library is affected, including long-running processes that reload /etc/resolv.conf on the next query after it changes. Search domains are commonly written to /etc/resolv.conf from data received over DHCP or from a VPN server, so an attacker on the local network may be able to trigger this without privileges on the target system, subject to validation by the network configuration software.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9065-1 GNU C Library vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared The Gnu C Library
The Gnu C Library glibc
Vendors & Products The Gnu C Library
The Gnu C Library glibc
Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Initializing the DNS stub resolver from an /etc/resolv.conf file, or a LOCALDOMAIN environment variable, whose search list contains a domain of roughly 200 characters or more in the GNU C Library version 2.26 to 2.44 results in an assertion failure which aborts the process. The resolver truncates the search list when copying it into the fixed-size _res.defdname buffer, then asserts that the copy is consistent with the full configuration. The consistency check compared against the wrong size and did not handle a first entry that does not fit, so a correctly truncated list failed the assertion. Any process that resolves names through the library is affected, including long-running processes that reload /etc/resolv.conf on the next query after it changes. Search domains are commonly written to /etc/resolv.conf from data received over DHCP or from a VPN server, so an attacker on the local network may be able to trigger this without privileges on the target system, subject to validation by the network configuration software.
Title Assertion failure in the DNS stub resolver with a long search domain
Weaknesses CWE-617
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
glibc
Published
Updated
Sep 17, 2026, 6:09 PM
Reserved
May 15, 2026, 12:15 PM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Sep 17, 2026, 5:16 PM
Modified
Sep 18, 2026, 6:17 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Sep 17, 2026, 4:54 PM