CVE-2026-11789 | 389-ds-base: 389-ds-base: smd5 password storage plugin salt length integer underflow crash

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.

Published: 2026-06-09 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-11789 is rated Low Risk (28.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.34%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-11789

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.06% 0.34% +0.28%
2 2026-06-10 0.06%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-11789

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.2 3.6 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-11789

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-11789

GHSA-jjqx-m459-2x33 · Severity: medium — A flaw was found in 389 Directory Server. The SMD5 password storage plugin performs unsigned...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-11789

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-11789 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (389-ds-base), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, bullseye, sid, trixie): open 4. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-11789
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-11789/

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-11789

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
redhat directory_server 11.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:directory_server:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat directory_server 12.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:directory_server:12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat directory_server 13.0 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:directory_server:13.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat 389_directory_server cpe:2.3:o:redhat:389_directory_server:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 10.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-11789

cvelogic Threat Intelligence