Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics

Qian Wang; Bashan Zuo; Ming He; Sherali Zeadally

doi:10.1109/ICCE67443.2026.11449756

Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics

Qian Wang
, Bashan Zuo
, Ming He
, Sherali Zeadally

School of Information Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

We identify and analyze the Hybrid Cascade Delegation (HCD) vulnerability. HCD is a complex delegation chain formed by combining NS and CNAME records. A carefully constructed HCD chain can exploit and bypass resolvers' constraints on the number of outgoing queries per resolution. This vulnerability forces a resolver to issue a large volume of queries, resulting in significant amplification of DNS traffic. Currently employed defense technologies are unable to mitigate the threats posed by this vulnerability. In modern consumer electronic devices where service endpoints are embedded and vendor-controlled, the failure of DNS resolution to the core service infrastructure can easily cause high-intensity and large-scale impact. We investigate the HCD vulnerability and address this critical issue in consumer electronic environments. We also propose and discuss mitigation solutions for the HCD vulnerability.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331553432
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCE67443.2026.11449756
State	Published - 2026
Event	2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates Duration: Feb 3 2026 → Feb 5 2026

Publication series

Name	Digest of Technical Papers - IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics
ISSN (Print)	0747-668X
ISSN (Electronic)	2159-1423

Conference

Conference	2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026
Country/Territory	United Arab Emirates
City	Dubai
Period	2/3/26 → 2/5/26

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 IEEE.

Funding

This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China under grant number: 2023YFB3105700

Funders	Funder number
National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China	2023YFB3105700

Keywords

DNS delegation
amplification attack
consumer electronics
vulnerability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Access to Document

10.1109/ICCE67443.2026.11449756

Cite this

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title = "Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics",

abstract = "We identify and analyze the Hybrid Cascade Delegation (HCD) vulnerability. HCD is a complex delegation chain formed by combining NS and CNAME records. A carefully constructed HCD chain can exploit and bypass resolvers' constraints on the number of outgoing queries per resolution. This vulnerability forces a resolver to issue a large volume of queries, resulting in significant amplification of DNS traffic. Currently employed defense technologies are unable to mitigate the threats posed by this vulnerability. In modern consumer electronic devices where service endpoints are embedded and vendor-controlled, the failure of DNS resolution to the core service infrastructure can easily cause high-intensity and large-scale impact. We investigate the HCD vulnerability and address this critical issue in consumer electronic environments. We also propose and discuss mitigation solutions for the HCD vulnerability.",

keywords = "DNS delegation, amplification attack, consumer electronics, vulnerability",

author = "Qian Wang and Bashan Zuo and Ming He and Sherali Zeadally",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 IEEE.; 2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026 ; Conference date: 03-02-2026 Through 05-02-2026",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1109/ICCE67443.2026.11449756",

language = "English",

series = "Digest of Technical Papers - IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics",

booktitle = "2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026",

}

Wang, Q, Zuo, B, He, M & Zeadally, S 2026, Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics. in 2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026. Digest of Technical Papers - IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, 2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2/3/26. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCE67443.2026.11449756

Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics. / Wang, Qian; Zuo, Bashan; He, Ming et al.
2026 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, ICCE 2026. 2026. (Digest of Technical Papers - IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Wang, Qian

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PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - We identify and analyze the Hybrid Cascade Delegation (HCD) vulnerability. HCD is a complex delegation chain formed by combining NS and CNAME records. A carefully constructed HCD chain can exploit and bypass resolvers' constraints on the number of outgoing queries per resolution. This vulnerability forces a resolver to issue a large volume of queries, resulting in significant amplification of DNS traffic. Currently employed defense technologies are unable to mitigate the threats posed by this vulnerability. In modern consumer electronic devices where service endpoints are embedded and vendor-controlled, the failure of DNS resolution to the core service infrastructure can easily cause high-intensity and large-scale impact. We investigate the HCD vulnerability and address this critical issue in consumer electronic environments. We also propose and discuss mitigation solutions for the HCD vulnerability.

AB - We identify and analyze the Hybrid Cascade Delegation (HCD) vulnerability. HCD is a complex delegation chain formed by combining NS and CNAME records. A carefully constructed HCD chain can exploit and bypass resolvers' constraints on the number of outgoing queries per resolution. This vulnerability forces a resolver to issue a large volume of queries, resulting in significant amplification of DNS traffic. Currently employed defense technologies are unable to mitigate the threats posed by this vulnerability. In modern consumer electronic devices where service endpoints are embedded and vendor-controlled, the failure of DNS resolution to the core service infrastructure can easily cause high-intensity and large-scale impact. We investigate the HCD vulnerability and address this critical issue in consumer electronic environments. We also propose and discuss mitigation solutions for the HCD vulnerability.

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KW - amplification attack

KW - consumer electronics

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M3 - Conference contribution

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Hybrid Cascade Delegation Vulnerability: A New Threat to Consumer Electronics

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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