CVE-2026-78701: Out-of-bounds Write in Red Hat Red Hat Directory Server 11
CVE-2026-78701 is a medium severity vulnerability in Red Hat Directory Server 11's 389-ds-base component. It involves an out-of-bounds write flaw in the SASL UNBIND process that can be exploited by a remote, authenticated attacker. Exploitation can cause a connection stall, leading to resource exhaustion and a denial of service (DoS) condition on the server. No confidentiality or integrity impacts are reported. The vendor advisory recommends restricting network access to trusted clients as a mitigation. No official patch or fix status is currently confirmed.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in 389-ds-base affects the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) UNBIND process, allowing a remote, authenticated attacker to send a specially crafted request that causes the server connection to stall. This results in resource exhaustion and a denial of service. The issue is classified as an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), which can cause memory corruption and unexpected server behavior. The CVSS v3.1 score is 6.5 (medium), with an attack vector of network, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and high availability impact. The vendor advisory does not confirm a patch availability but recommends network access restrictions to trusted clients to mitigate the risk.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker to cause a denial of service by stalling connections and exhausting server resources. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The server may crash, exit, or restart due to memory corruption caused by the out-of-bounds write. This can disrupt availability of the Red Hat Directory Server 11 service.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat advises restricting network access to the 389-ds-base service to trusted clients only by configuring firewall rules to limit inbound LDAP (port 389) and LDAPS (port 636) connections to authorized IP addresses or subnets. This mitigation reduces exposure to the vulnerability. No official patch or fix is currently confirmed; users should monitor the vendor advisory for updates. A service restart is not required after applying firewall changes.
CVE-2026-78701: Out-of-bounds Write in Red Hat Red Hat Directory Server 11
Description
CVE-2026-78701 is a medium severity vulnerability in Red Hat Directory Server 11's 389-ds-base component. It involves an out-of-bounds write flaw in the SASL UNBIND process that can be exploited by a remote, authenticated attacker. Exploitation can cause a connection stall, leading to resource exhaustion and a denial of service (DoS) condition on the server. No confidentiality or integrity impacts are reported. The vendor advisory recommends restricting network access to trusted clients as a mitigation. No official patch or fix status is currently confirmed.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in 389-ds-base affects the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) UNBIND process, allowing a remote, authenticated attacker to send a specially crafted request that causes the server connection to stall. This results in resource exhaustion and a denial of service. The issue is classified as an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), which can cause memory corruption and unexpected server behavior. The CVSS v3.1 score is 6.5 (medium), with an attack vector of network, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and high availability impact. The vendor advisory does not confirm a patch availability but recommends network access restrictions to trusted clients to mitigate the risk.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker to cause a denial of service by stalling connections and exhausting server resources. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The server may crash, exit, or restart due to memory corruption caused by the out-of-bounds write. This can disrupt availability of the Red Hat Directory Server 11 service.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat advises restricting network access to the 389-ds-base service to trusted clients only by configuring firewall rules to limit inbound LDAP (port 389) and LDAPS (port 636) connections to authorized IP addresses or subnets. This mitigation reduces exposure to the vulnerability. No official patch or fix is currently confirmed; users should monitor the vendor advisory for updates. A service restart is not required after applying firewall changes.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- redhat
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-25T05:00:43.165Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-78701","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 6a8d4643acd9273b49da63b1
Added to database: 08/25/2026, 07:37:39 UTC
Last enriched: 08/25/2026, 07:52:09 UTC
Last updated: 08/25/2026, 08:12:14 UTC
Views: 5
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