Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-26017

Race Condition in Coredns.Io Coredns ≤ 1.14.2

Published
06 March 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0039 31th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-26017 is a high-severity Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367) vulnerability in Coredns.Io Coredns. Its CVSS base score is 7.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 31th 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 AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — 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-2026-26017 is a logical vulnerability in CoreDNS, a DNS server that chains plugins, affecting versions prior to 1.14.2. The issue stems from the default execution order of plugins, where security plugins such as acl are evaluated before the rewrite plugin. This creates a Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw, classified as CWE-367, that allows DNS access controls to be bypassed. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.7 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attackers with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation enables a scoped impact with high confidentiality consequences, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive DNS data by circumventing access control mechanisms.

CoreDNS has patched this issue in version 1.14.2. Security practitioners should upgrade to this version or later. Additional mitigation details are available in the CoreDNS release notes at https://github.com/coredns/coredns/releases/tag/v1.14.2 and the GitHub security advisory at https://github.com/coredns/coredns/security/advisories/GHSA-c9v3-4pv7-87pr.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

CoreDNS is a DNS server that chains plugins. Prior to version 1.14.2, a logical vulnerability in CoreDNS allows DNS access controls to be bypassed due to the default execution order of plugins. Security plugins such as acl are evaluated before…

more

the rewrite plugin, resulting in a Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw. This issue has been patched in version 1.14.2.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1574 Hijack Execution Flow Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the way operating systems run programs.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-33489Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-35579Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-32934Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-33190Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-62309Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2023-28452Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-62299Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2025-47950Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2025-68151Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns
CVE-2026-26018Same product: Coredns.Io Coredns

Affected Assets

coredns.io
coredns
≤ 1.14.2

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)
  • V15.4.2
  • V17.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

A reference monitor that is always invoked and analyzable structurally eliminates the non-atomic check-then-use pattern underlying TOCTOU.

Access enforcement that performs an atomic check-and-use decision directly stops the window in which a TOCTOU race can be exploited.

Process isolation limits the blast radius of a successful TOCTOU exploitation but does not remove the race itself.

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.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly include coding standards and reviews that prevent TOCTOU race conditions.

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.

none

Reliable, synchronized time across systems narrows the exploitable window in which a resource state can change between a security check and its use.

References