---
id: CVE-2026-123601
title: Hickory DNS 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 NSEC3 Proof of Nonexistence Forgery
summary: >-
  Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25.0 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net
  0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 invert the relational operators in the wrap-around
  branch of find_covering_record() in nsec3.rs, so the last NSEC3 record in a
  zone's has…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-480
vendor: hickory-dns
product: hickory-dns
affected:
  - hickory-dns >= 0.26.0-beta.1 < 0.26.2
  - hickory-dns >= 0.25.0 <= 0.26.0-alpha.1
published: '2026-11-08'
updated: '2026-11-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-08T01:38:29.320Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-123601'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns/security/advisories/GHSA-588m-chg6-8jqj
    label: GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-588m-chg6-8jqj)
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hickory-dns-0.26.0-beta.1-before-0.26.2-nsec3-proof-of-nonexistence-forgery
    label: >-
      VulnCheck Advisory: Hickory DNS 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 NSEC3 Proof of
      Nonexistence Forgery
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-11-08T02:43:18.647Z'
---

## Overview

Hickory DNS hickory-proto 0.25.0 through 0.26.0-alpha.1 and hickory-net 0.26.0-beta.1 before 0.26.2 invert the relational operators in the wrap-around branch of find_covering_record() in nsec3.rs, so the last NSEC3 record in a zone's hash ring covers every hash except its owner. Attackers able to inject DNS responses can replay that NSEC3 record and its RRSIG to forge DNSSEC-validated negative responses denying legitimate names.

## Affected

- `hickory-dns >= 0.26.0-beta.1 < 0.26.2`
- `hickory-dns >= 0.25.0 <= 0.26.0-alpha.1`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.