BIND Vulnerabilities: Urgent Security Updates Released

Rohan Timalsina

August 8, 2024 - TuxCare expert team

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Several high-severity vulnerabilities have been discovered in BIND, potentially exposing millions of DNS servers to denial-of-service attacks. These issues have prompted urgent security updates from major Linux distributions such as Ubuntu and Debian. In this article, we explore the details of these vulnerabilities, their potential impact, and provide guidance on how to protect your Linux systems.

Understanding the Bind Vulnerabilities

CVE-2024-0760 (CVSS v3 Severity Score: 7.5 High)

It was discovered that BIND incorrectly handled a flood of DNS messages over TCP, potentially causing instability during the attack. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to destabilize BIND, leading to a denial of service. Implementing ACLs will not prevent this attack.

CVE-2024-1737 (CVSS v3 Severity Score: 7.5 High)

Bind could be overwhelmed by a large number of simultaneously existing resource records (RRs), leading to resource exhaustion and a DoS condition.

CVE-2024-1975 (CVSS v3 Severity Score: 7.5 High)

This issue stemmed from the Bind’s incorrect handling of a large number of SIG(0) signed requests. A remote attacker can leverage this vulnerability to cause Bind to exhaust CPU resources, leading to a denial of service.

CVE-2024-4076

This vulnerability is related to the Bind’s incorrect handling of serving both stable cache data and authoritative zone content. A remote attacker can use this flaw to crash the Bind server, resulting in a denial of service.

How to Stay Secure

To address these critical issues, Ubuntu and Debian have released security updates for their supported versions.

Ubuntu: Updates are available for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Debian: Security patches have been provided for Debian 11 and Debian 12.

It is imperative to update your BIND packages to the latest versions to mitigate these risks. Doing so will not only address the vulnerabilities but also benefit from bug fixes, new features, and improved stability.

The Challenge of Older Linux Distributions

While Ubuntu and Debian offer timely security updates for their supported versions, organizations still using end-of-life (EOL) Linux distributions face significant security risks. These outdated systems no longer receive critical security patches, leaving them exposed to various vulnerabilities like the recently discovered Bind vulnerabilities.

To address this, consider utilizing TuxCare’s Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS). ELS provides continued security updates for a range of EOL systems, including CentOS 6, CentOS 7, CentOS 8, CentOS Stream 8, Oracle Linux 6, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 18.04.

For the above Bind vulnerabilities, you can track the ELS patch status across different releases using TuxCare’s CVE tracker.

Final Thoughts

The vulnerabilities in BIND underscore the importance of keeping your DNS infrastructure up-to-date and secure. By promptly applying security patches and considering extended support options for older systems, you can significantly reduce the risk of successful attacks and protect your organization from potential disruptions.

Explore the dangers of running end-of-life Linux in this datasheet.

Source: USN-6909-1

Summary