Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-2291 is a dnsmasq DNS handling flaw that can corrupt memory and potentially poison DNS cache responses. A successful attacker could redirect users to attacker-controlled IP addresses or disrupt DNS service. The provided data rates it high severity, but does not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or broadly reachable DNS infrastructure because DNS redirection can undermine trust in many dependent services. Internal-only deployments still matter, but urgency should follow reachability and package-maintainer confirmation.
Technical view
The issue is described as a heap buffer overflow in dnsmasq extract_name(), associated with CWE-190. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.3 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. Impact is limited but spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely where dnsmasq is reachable as a DNS resolver, forwarder, or cache, especially if queries can arrive from untrusted networks. Version data in the bundle is incomplete, so asset teams should verify against vendor and package-maintainer advisories.
Exploitation context
The bundle says exploitation could inject false DNS cache entries or cause denial of service. It does not provide evidence of exploitation in the wild, and the KEV flag is false. Treat exploitability as plausible from network access, but not confirmed as actively exploited.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies dnsmasq and extract_name(), but affected version ranges are not well specified. Downstream references suggest package ecosystems are responding, yet the bundle does not prove which downstream products are affected. Avoid claims beyond dnsmasq until advisories confirm scope.
Mitigation direction
- Check dnsmasq project and OS vendor advisories for fixed versions.
- Update dnsmasq or downstream packages once vendor-fixed builds are available.
- Restrict DNS service access to trusted clients and networks.
- Review firewall rules for unintended public DNS exposure.
- Monitor resolver behavior for suspicious cache or redirect anomalies.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems running dnsmasq or bundled dnsmasq derivatives.
- Compare installed package versions against vendor advisory status.
- Confirm DNS listeners are not exposed beyond intended networks.
- Review resolver logs for crashes, abnormal responses, or cache anomalies.
- Track SUSE, CERT/CC, dnsmasq, NixOS, and Pi-hole references for updates.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-190: 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-2291 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L3.93.4CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.3HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-2291.htmlCVE reference, certcc
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/471747CVE reference, certcc
- https://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/CVE/CVE reference, certcc
- https://lists.thekelleys.org.uk/pipermail/dnsmasq-discuss/2026q2/018471.htmlCVE reference, certcc
- https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/519082CVE reference, certcc
- https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/519093CVE reference, certcc
- https://github.com/pi-hole/FTL/releases/tag/v6.6.2CVE reference, certcc
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Integer Overflow or Wraparound
Integer Overflow or Wraparound represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.