CVE-2026-14940 | 389-ds-base: 389-ds-base: heap-buffer-overflow in dn normalization via quoted multivalued rdn

A heap-buffer-overflow flaw was found in 389 Directory Server (389-ds-base). When normalizing a Distinguished Name (DN) that contains a legacy-quoted value encoding a multivalued nested Relative Distinguished Name (RDN), the server can write past the end of a heap allocation while sorting RDN attribute-value pairs. An unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger this condition by sending an LDAP operation whose DN reaches the DN normalization routine, such as a search with a crafted base DN. This can corrupt heap memory and may cause denial of service.

Published: 2026-07-07 Last update: 2026-07-09 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-14940 is rated Low Risk (29.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.31%). 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-2026-14940

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 2026-07-08 — 0.31% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-14940

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-14940

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-14940

GHSA-868f-j5w9-5jgm · Severity: medium — A heap-buffer-overflow flaw was found in 389 Directory Server (389-ds-base). When normalizing a...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-14940

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-14940 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-2026-14940
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-14940
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-14940/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-14940 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (389-ds-base), 7 status rows across 7 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needs-triage 6, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-14940

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-14940

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-2026-14940

cvelogic Threat Intelligence