---
id: CVE-2026-11789
title: >-
  389-ds-base: 389-ds-base: smd5 password storage plugin salt length integer
  underflow crash
summary: >-
  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 LDA…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.9
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-191
vendor: Red Hat
product: 'redhat-ds:11/389-ds-base'
affected:
  - 'redhat-ds:11/389-ds-base (all versions)'
  - 'redhat-ds:12/389-ds-base (all versions)'
  - 389-ds-base (all versions)
  - 389-ds-base (all versions)
  - 389-ds-base
  - 389-ds-base (all versions)
  - 389-ds-base (all versions)
  - 389-ds-base (all versions)
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-06-09T16:15:56.091915Z'
published: '2026-06-09'
updated: '2026-11-05'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-05T16:22:36.680Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-11789'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-11789'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2485422'
    label: RHBZ#2485422
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00282
epssPercentile: 0.20841
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T22:38:31.344Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `redhat-ds:11/389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `redhat-ds:12/389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `389-ds-base`
- `389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `389-ds-base (all versions)`
- `389-ds-base (all versions)`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

### Workarounds

Disable nsslapd-allow-hashed-passwords (default: off) to prevent non-DM users from setting pre-hashed passwords. Restrict Directory Manager credentials; limit DM access to management networks and audit DM operations via nsslapd-auditlog. Monitor for suspicious userPassword modifications. Migrate stored passwords from {SMD5} to {PBKDF2_SHA256} to eliminate the vulnerable code path for existing accounts.