Medium [CVE-2026-11789] 389-ds-base: 389-ds-base: smd5 password storage plugin salt length integer underflow crash
This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-11789 affecting Red Hat Directory Server 11, Red Hat Directory Server 12, Red Hat Directory Server 13.
Aggregated and source-linked by VulniPulse. Data sources, validation and limitations.
VulniPulse record published
Summary
A flaw was found in 389 Directory Server. The SMD5 password storage plugin performs unsigned integer underflow when computing salt length from a crafted password hash shorter than 16 bytes, causing a buffer over-read that crashes the LDAP server during authentication.
Red Hat rates this issue as Moderate impact. Once planted, the crash re-triggers on every bind to the poisoned account until the hash is removed offline.
This is a missed variant of CVE-2024-5953, which patched md5_pwd.c and pbkdf2_pwd.c but not smd5_pwd.c. Red Hat severity: Moderate — CVSS 4.9 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
Weakness: CWE-191. Affected Red Hat products: Red Hat Directory Server 11; Red Hat Directory Server 12; Red Hat Directory Server 13; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
Will not fix / out of support: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Red Hat does not currently list a fixing RHSA for this CVE.
Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat package: 389-ds-base.
Is CVE-2026-11789 exploited?
No exploitation is reported in the sources VulniPulse tracks: CVE-2026-11789 is not in the CISA KEV catalog (checked ) and this advisory does not report exploitation. That is not proof the vulnerability cannot be exploited.
How do I fix CVE-2026-11789?
The advisory VulniPulse tracks names no fixed release. Follow Red Hat's guidance for workarounds and updates.
Confirm against the vendor advisory before you patch.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative. Check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 4 days ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists. Confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 4 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- Disable nsslapd-allow-hashed-passwords (default: off) to prevent non-DM users from setting pre-hashed passwords. Restrict Directory Manager credentials; limit DM access to management networks and audit DM operations via nsslapd-auditlog. Monitor for suspicious userPassword modifications. Migrate stored passwords from {SMD5} to {PBKDF2_SHA256} to eliminate the vulnerable code path for existing accounts.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 4 days ago·verify at source
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