Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-59023

Auth Bypass in Powerdns Recursor 5.1.0 – 5.1.8

Published
09 February 2026
Modified
20 April 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-59023 is a high-severity Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay (CWE-294) vulnerability in Powerdns Recursor. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Network Sniffing (T1040); ranked at the 19th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-23 (Session Authenticity) and SC-8 (Transmission Confidentiality and Integrity) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2025-59023 affects PowerDNS Recursor, where crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations. Published on 2026-02-09, this vulnerability is rated 8.2 on the CVSS 3.1 scale (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L) and is associated with CWE-294.

Remote attackers require no privileges or user interaction and can exploit it over the network with low complexity. Successful exploitation poisons the cached delegations, resulting in high integrity impact by potentially directing DNS queries to attacker-controlled servers, alongside low availability impact.

The PowerDNS security advisory (https://docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2025-06.html) provides further details on mitigation and patches.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Crafted delegations or IP fragments can poison cached delegations in Recursor.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1040 Network Sniffing Credential Access
Adversaries may passively sniff network traffic to capture information about an environment, including authentication material passed over the network.
T1550.003 Pass the Ticket Lateral Movement
Adversaries may “pass the ticket” using stolen Kerberos tickets to move laterally within an environment, bypassing normal system access controls.
T1550.004 Web Session Cookie Lateral Movement
Adversaries can use stolen session cookies to authenticate to web applications and services.
T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
T1021 Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-24027Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33261Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2025-59029Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33262Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33259Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33258Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2023-22617Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2025-59024Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33600Same product: Powerdns Recursor
CVE-2026-33601Same product: Powerdns Recursor

Affected Assets

powerdns
recursor
5.1.0 — 5.1.8 · 5.2.0 — 5.2.6 · 5.3.0 — 5.3.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V10.4.16
  • V10.5.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Session authenticity mechanisms directly stop replay of captured authentication traffic by enforcing freshness or cryptographic binding.

Transmission integrity (with anti-replay) stops captured messages from being accepted as valid later.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-04 mostly match
prevents

Protecting and verifying identity assertions prevents replay of captured authentication material.

PR.DS-02 mostly match
prevents

Encryption and integrity protections for data-in-transit directly block capture-replay of credentials or tokens.

DE.CM-01 partial match
prevents

Network monitoring may detect anomalous replays after the fact but does not prevent the design flaw.

PR.AA-03 partial match
prevents

Strong authentication methods can reduce replay risk but do not inherently address captured messages.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Cryptographic protections (e.g., nonces, timestamps, message authentication codes) make captured authentication messages unusable for replay.

prevents

Secure authentication mechanisms directly prevent replay attacks by requiring fresh, non-replayable credentials or tokens.

mitigates

Network security controls such as encryption and integrity protection reduce the feasibility of capturing and replaying authentication traffic.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate replay-resistant authentication designs, but the control itself does not prescribe the technical measures.

References