# Remediation Handoff: CVE-2026-77860

## Summary

NVD: In NLnetLabs Unbound 1.20.0 up to and including 1.26.0, a vulnerability on the 'serve-expired' code path can cause a double decrement on the 'wait-limit' counter per client IP essentially bypassing one of the counter measures that was introduced for DNSBomb... NVD: A malicious actor can exploit this by controlling an authoritative zone with short TTL, so cached entries expire quickly. NVD: Each 'slow' query, one the attacker's authoritative never answers, is followed by one query for an expired cached name, which is answered immediately via the 'serve-expired' path and decrements the counter twice.

## Why it matters

CVSS severity is LOW with score 3.7. EPSS percentile is 0.19828. KEV status is not listed in KEV. Use this as a defensive priority handoff, not as an execution instruction.

## Affected context

* Vendor: unknown
* Product: unknown
* Component: unknown
* Version / CPE / PURL: unknown

## Remediation context

* Recommended route: vendor_patch_or_mitigation
* Vendor/advisory reference: official_reference_present
* Patch status: requires_confirmation
* Fixed version: unknown
* References: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77860

## Human checklist

* Confirm whether the listed product or package is present.
* Confirm affected version.
* Review vendor advisory or official source.
* Confirm patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision.
* Confirm exposure.
* Document remediation status.

## Safe AI / Codex handoff

* Goal: Prepare a defensive remediation plan for CVE-2026-77860 using only provided public-safe source context and any separate repo context supplied by the user.
* Allowed actions: summarize vendor guidance, prepare a defensive remediation plan, identify affected dependencies only when repo context is separately provided by the user, suggest tests and validation steps, document human verification questions
* Disallowed actions: generate offensive code, provide payloads, scan external targets, change production systems, merge or deploy changes, create GitHub issues or pull requests without explicit separate approval
* Acceptance criteria: Affected product or dependency presence is confirmed by a human., Affected version is confirmed or marked not applicable., Official advisory or source reference is reviewed., Patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision is documented., Validation steps are proposed without external scanning or production mutation.
* Human approval required: true

## Safety note

This handoff is for defensive triage and remediation planning only. It excludes offensive procedure, payload material, external target scan guidance, and auto-remediation.