High [CVE-2026-19843] 389-ds-base: 389-ds-base: command injection via unescaped ldap dn in cockpit 389 console ldap editor
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-19843 affecting Red Hat Directory Server 11, Red Hat Directory Server 12, Red Hat Directory Server 13.
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Summary
A flaw was found in 389-ds-base. The Cockpit 389 Console's LDAP editor constructs an ldapsearch command by embedding an LDAP entry's distinguished name (DN) into a shell command string without proper escaping.
An LDAP user with delegated privileges to create or rename directory entries could craft a malicious DN containing shell metacharacters. When a Cockpit administrator subsequently views the entry in the 389 Console, the embedded shell command executes with root privileges on the directory server host.
Important: This flaw allows an LDAP user holding delegated create/rename privileges over some subtree to achieve arbitrary command execution with root privileges on the host. The Cockpit 389 Console's LDAP editor embeds a raw LDAP entry DN into a double-quoted shell command string executed via Cockpit's privileged (superuser) channel.
LDAP DN syntax does not require escaping of shell metacharacters such as $, (, and ), so a DN crafted with command substitution executes on the host when a more-privileged Cockpit operator subsequently views that entry. This compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host.
Exploitation requires both a delegated LDAP write privilege and a privileged operator viewing the crafted entry; neither precondition alone is sufficient.
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 2 hours 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 2 hours ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- Restrict Cockpit 389 Console access to trusted administrators, and restrict delegated LDAP add/rename privileges to trusted accounts, until a fix is available. This issue only affects Red Hat Directory Server deployments that include the Cockpit console; plain RHEL 389-ds-base is not affected.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 2 hours ago·verify at source
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