Bug 2436941 (CVE-2026-25518)

Summary:	CVE-2026-25518 github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager: cert-manager: Denial of Service via crafted DNS entry
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	aazores, adudiak, agarcial, akoudelk, alcohan, anjoseph, aoconnor, asegurap, caswilli, cmah, crizzo, dhanak, drosa, dsimansk, eaguilar, ebaron, eglynn, gparvin, jbalunas, jburrell, jjoyce, jkoehler, jolong, jprabhak, jschluet, kaycoth, kingland, kshier, kverlaen, lbragsta, lhh, lphiri, matzew, mburns, mgarciac, mnovotny, mwringe, pahickey, pjindal, rhaigner, sausingh, stcannon, teagle, wenshen, wtam, xiyuan, yguenane
Target Milestone:	---	Keywords:	Security
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in cert-manager for Kubernetes clusters. The cert-manager-controller performs DNS lookups during ACME DNS-01 processing (for zone discovery and propagation self-checks). By default, these lookups use standard unencrypted DNS. An attacker who can intercept and modify DNS traffic from the cert-manager-controller pod can insert a crafted entry into cert-manager's DNS cache. Accessing this entry will trigger a panic, resulting in denial‑of‑service (DoS) of the cert-manager controller. The issue can also be exploited if the authoritative DNS server for the domain being validated is controlled by a malicious actor.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-02-04 22:01:31 UTC

cert-manager adds certificates and certificate issuers as resource types in Kubernetes clusters, and simplifies the process of obtaining, renewing and using those certificates. In versions from 1.18.0 to before 1.18.5 and from 1.19.0 to before 1.19.3, the cert-manager-controller performs DNS lookups during ACME DNS-01 processing (for zone discovery and propagation self-checks). By default, these lookups use standard unencrypted DNS. An attacker who can intercept and modify DNS traffic from the cert-manager-controller pod can insert a crafted entry into cert-manager's DNS cache. Accessing this entry will trigger a panic, resulting in denial‑of‑service (DoS) of the cert-manager controller. The issue can also be exploited if the authoritative DNS server for the domain being validated is controlled by a malicious actor. This issue has been patched in versions 1.18.5 and 1.19.3.