CVE-2024-1062 identifies a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the 389-ds-base software, specifically version 1.4.3.0. The flaw arises when the application attempts to write a value exceeding 256 characters into the log_entry_attr attribute, which is not properly bounded, leading to a heap overflow. This overflow corrupts the heap memory, causing the 389 Directory Server process to crash and resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges (AV:L, PR:L) and does not require user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is limited to availability (A:H), with no confidentiality or integrity impact. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, and no patches were linked at the time of publication, though a fix is expected given the nature of the flaw. The vulnerability is significant for environments relying on 389-ds-base for LDAP directory services, as a DoS can disrupt authentication, authorization, and directory lookups critical to enterprise operations.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-1062 is service availability disruption. Since 389-ds-base is an open-source LDAP directory server commonly used in Linux environments, organizations using it for identity management, authentication, and directory services may face outages or degraded service. This can affect internal user authentication, access to network resources, and applications dependent on LDAP queries. Public sector institutions, universities, and enterprises with Linux-based infrastructure are particularly at risk. While the vulnerability does not expose sensitive data or allow privilege escalation, the denial of service could lead to operational downtime, impacting business continuity and potentially violating compliance requirements related to service availability. The requirement for local access limits remote exploitation, but insider threats or compromised internal hosts could trigger the vulnerability.

1. Monitor vendor advisories and apply official patches or updates for 389-ds-base version 1.4.3.0 as soon as they become available. 2. Implement strict input validation and limit the size of values written to log_entry_attr to 256 characters or less through configuration or application-level controls. 3. Restrict local access to systems running 389-ds-base to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of exploitation by low-privilege users. 4. Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) to detect anomalous behavior or crashes of the 389 Directory Server process. 5. Regularly audit and monitor logs for unusual activity related to LDAP operations and attribute writes. 6. Consider deploying redundancy and failover mechanisms for directory services to maintain availability in case of DoS. 7. Harden Linux hosts by applying the principle of least privilege and isolating directory services in dedicated environments to reduce attack surface.