Knot Resolver before 5.1.1 allows traffic amplification via a crafted DNS answer from an attacker-controlled server, aka an "NXNSAttack" issue. This is triggered by random subdomains in the NSDNAME in NS records.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-12667 is rated Moderate Risk (57.2/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.02%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-01-14 | 0.65% | 1.02% | +0.37% |
| 2 | 2025-11-21 | 1.28% | 0.65% | -0.63% |
| 3 | 2025-11-18 | — | 1.28% | — |
Full EPSS history (18 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
3.9 | 3.6 | [email protected] |
| 7.5 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
3.9 | 3.6 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
| 5.0 | 2.0 | MEDIUM |
|
10.0 | 2.9 | [email protected] |
| vendor | priority | summary | link |
|---|---|---|---|
alpine
|
— | CVE-2020-12667: 1 source package rows (knot-resolver); 7 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 7, open 0. | https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-12667 |
debian
|
not yet assigned | CVE-2020-12667 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (knot-resolver), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. | https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-12667 |
ubuntu
|
medium | CVE-2020-12667 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (knot-resolver), 17 status rows across 17 suites (bionic, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 11, needed 2, released 2, DNE 1, ignored 1. | https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-12667 |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| nic | knot_resolver | < 5.1.1 | cpe:2.3:a:nic:knot_resolver:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://cyber-security-group.cs.tau.ac.il/# | Technical Description Third Party Advisory |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/05/19/2 | Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
| https://en.blog.nic.cz/2020/05/19/nxnsattack-upgrade-resolvers-to-stop-new-kind-of-random-subdomain-attack/ | Technical Description Vendor Advisory |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/04/msg00017.html | |
| https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/76Y4FITMOH6RVPWAANGV7NB2ZHPJJGDQ/ | |
| https://www.knot-resolver.cz/2020-05-19-knot-resolver-5.1.1.html | Release Notes Vendor Advisory |