The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has disclosed three newly identified vulnerabilities in BIND 9, one of the world’s most widely used Domain Name System (DNS) software platforms. The flaws, publicly revealed on March, 2026, affect both DNS resolvers and authoritative servers, potentially allowing attackers to disrupt services, crash systems, or bypass access controls under certain conditions.
The most critical of the vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2026-1519, carries a high severity rating and can be exploited to trigger a denial-of-service condition. The issue arises when a BIND resolver processes a specially crafted DNSSEC-enabled zone. By forcing the server to perform excessive NSEC3 iterations, attackers can significantly increase CPU consumption, degrading performance and preventing the system from responding to legitimate queries. While disabling DNSSEC validation can mitigate the issue, experts caution against this approach due to the loss of important security protections, recommending patching as the safest solution.
A second flaw, CVE-2026-3119, affects the handling of TKEY records and can cause the “named” server process to crash when processing certain valid DNS queries. Exploitation requires access to a valid Transaction Signature (TSIG) key configured on the server, which limits exposure but still presents a risk in environments where keys are poorly managed or compromised. Administrators are advised to review and remove any unnecessary or untrusted TSIG keys as a precaution.
The third vulnerability, CVE-2026-3591, involves a memory handling issue in SIG(0) processing that can be used to bypass Access Control Lists (ACLs) By crafting specific DNS requests, attackers may manipulate how IP addresses are evaluated, potentially gaining unauthorized access in environments with permissive configurations. ISC has confirmed that there is no workaround for this issue, making immediate patching essential.
The vulnerabilities impact multiple supported and preview versions of BIND 9 across several release branches. In response, ISC has issued updated versions that address all three flaws, and organizations are strongly encouraged to upgrade without delay. Although there are currently no reports of active exploitation, the widespread use of BIND in critical internet infrastructure significantly amplifies the potential risk. DNS plays a foundational role in network operations, and any disruption or compromise can have cascading effects across services and applications.
Security teams are urged to prioritize patch deployment, validate configurations, and strengthen access controls to reduce exposure. As cyber threats increasingly target core infrastructure components, maintaining secure and up-to-date DNS systems remains a critical element of overall cybersecurity resilience.
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