CVE-2026-25518 PUBLISHED

cert-manager-controller DoS via Specially Crafted DNS Response

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 02.02.2026 Published: 04.02.2026 Updated: 05.02.2026

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.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS Score: 5.9

Product Status

Vendor cert-manager
Product cert-manager
Versions
  • Version >= 1.18.0, < 1.18.5 is affected
  • Version >= 1.19.0, < 1.19.3 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index CWE
  • CWE-704: Incorrect Type Conversion or Cast CWE