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CVE Record

CVE-2024-1488: Unbound: unrestricted reconfiguration enabled to anyone that may lead to local privilege escalation

A vulnerability was found in Unbound due to incorrect default permissions, allowing any process outside the unbound group to modify the unbound runtime configuration. If a process can connect over localhost to port 8953, it can alter the configuration of unbound.service. This flaw allows an unprivileged attacker to manipulate a running instance, potentially altering forwarders, allowing them to track all queries forwarded by the local resolver, and, in some cases, disrupting resolving altogether.

HighCVSS 8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2024-1488 is a Red Hat-packaged Unbound issue where incorrect default permissions can let any local process change Unbound’s running configuration through localhost port 8953. This can redirect DNS forwarding, expose query metadata, or break local name resolution. It is high priority on affected RHEL systems running Unbound.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for Linux resolver infrastructure. The bug is local, not internet-facing by itself, but compromised local workloads could redirect or degrade DNS resolution. Patch affected Red Hat systems through vendor errata during the next urgent maintenance window.

Technical view

The flaw is CWE-276 in Unbound runtime configuration permissions. If a local process can connect to localhost:8953, it may alter unbound.service configuration despite not being in the unbound group. Red Hat lists affected RHEL 8, 9, and 10 package streams; RHEL 6 and 7 are listed unaffected.

Likely exposure

Exposure is primarily local. Systems are at risk when affected Red Hat Unbound packages are installed and the runtime control interface is reachable on localhost port 8953.

Exploitation context

No provided source states active exploitation, and the bundle marks KEV as false. Abuse requires local code execution or a local process path, but no authentication is indicated in the CVSS vector. Impact can include DNS traffic visibility changes, resolver integrity loss, and availability disruption.

Researcher notes

The evidence is Red Hat-centered. Do not generalize upstream or other distributions beyond their advisories. The source bundle lists multiple affected RHEL 8/9 package versions and RHEL 10 affected, while RHEL 6/7 are unaffected. RHEL errata indicate vendor fixes are available.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply the relevant Red Hat security advisory updates for your RHEL stream.
  • Prioritize RHEL hosts using Unbound as a local resolver or DNS forwarding point.
  • If not yet patched, review Red Hat guidance for supported temporary mitigations.
  • Limit unnecessary local software on DNS resolver hosts to reduce local abuse paths.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory hosts with the Red Hat unbound package installed.
  • Compare installed package versions against affected and fixed Red Hat advisories.
  • Confirm whether Unbound’s control interface is reachable on localhost port 8953.
  • Review Unbound runtime configuration for unauthorized forwarder or control changes.
  • Check resolver logs for unexpected reconfiguration or resolution failures.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
12

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-276: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2024-1488 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
2ADP providers
12Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H2.55.5redhat

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2024-1488Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. Source timelineredhat

    Made public.

  2. Source timelineredhat

    Reported to Red Hat.

  3. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  4. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
Unknown vendorunboundunbound, 1.16.2unaffected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8unbound, 0:1.16.2-5.el8_9.6affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8unbound, 0:1.16.2-5.8.el8_10affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Supportunbound, 0:1.7.3-12.el8_2.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Telecommunications Update Serviceunbound, 0:1.7.3-12.el8_2.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Update Services for SAP Solutionsunbound, 0:1.7.3-12.el8_2.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Supportunbound, 0:1.7.3-15.el8_4.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Serviceunbound, 0:1.7.3-15.el8_4.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutionsunbound, 0:1.7.3-15.el8_4.1affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Supportunbound, 0:1.7.3-17.el8_6.4affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Supportunbound, 0:1.16.2-5.el8_8.4affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9unbound, 0:1.16.2-3.el9_3.5affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Supportunbound, 0:1.13.1-13.el9_0.4affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Supportunbound, 0:1.16.2-3.el9_2.4affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10unboundaffected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6unboundunaffected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7unboundunaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-276

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-276 · source CWE mapping

Incorrect Default Permissions

Incorrect Default Permissions represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

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