📄 Description (English)
A flaw was found in 389-ds-base. The get_ldapmessage_controls_ext() function in the LDAP server does not enforce an upper bound on the number of controls per LDAP message. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can send a specially crafted LDAP request containing hundreds of thousands of minimal controls within the default maximum BER message size (2 MB), causing excessive CPU consumption and heap allocation on the server. Under concurrent exploitation, this leads to significant latency degradation, worker thread starvation, or out-of-memory termination, resulting in a denial of service.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-9064 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in 389-ds-base LDAP servers that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exhaust server resources by sending LDAP messages with excessive controls. The flaw lacks upper bounds validation on control counts, enabling attackers to trigger CPU exhaustion, memory depletion, and service unavailability. This poses significant risk to organizations relying on LDAP for authentication and directory services, particularly in Saudi government and enterprise environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 21, 2026 23:37
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability critically impacts Saudi organizations using 389-ds-base for directory services: (1) Government sector (NCA, CITC, ARAMCO) relying on LDAP for centralized authentication and access control; (2) Banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions, major banks) using LDAP for identity management; (3) Healthcare sector (MOH facilities, private hospitals) dependent on LDAP for staff authentication; (4) Telecom operators (STC, Mobily, Zain) using LDAP for subscriber management; (5) Large enterprises with hybrid IT infrastructure. The lack of available patches creates immediate operational risk, as attackers can trigger service outages affecting thousands of users across critical sectors.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government (NCA, CITC, ARAMCO)
Banking (SAMA-regulated institutions)
Healthcare (MOH, private hospitals)
Telecommunications (STC, Mobily, Zain)
Energy (ARAMCO, utilities)
Large Enterprises (hybrid IT infrastructure)
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Inventory all 389-ds-base deployments across your organization and document versions
2. Implement network-level rate limiting on LDAP ports (389/636) to restrict message frequency from single sources
3. Deploy LDAP firewall rules to block requests with abnormally high control counts (>100 controls per message)
4. Enable LDAP server logging at DEBUG level to capture suspicious control patterns
Compensating Controls:
1. Implement connection limits per source IP (max 10 concurrent connections)
2. Configure LDAP timeout values aggressively (30-60 seconds for idle connections)
3. Deploy reverse proxy/load balancer with request inspection to filter malformed LDAP messages
4. Implement resource quotas (CPU, memory) at OS level using cgroups/containers
5. Set up automated alerting for CPU spikes >80% or memory usage >85%
Detection Rules:
1. Monitor for LDAP requests with control count >50 per message
2. Alert on sustained LDAP traffic from single IP exceeding 1000 requests/minute
3. Track worker thread count spikes and memory allocation patterns
4. Log all LDAP bind failures and connection resets
Patching Strategy:
1. Monitor 389-ds-base GitHub repository and Red Hat security advisories for patch release
2. Prepare test environment with current production configuration
3. Plan maintenance window for patching once available
4. Consider migration to alternative LDAP implementations (OpenLDAP with patches) if 389-ds-base patch delayed
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع نشرات 389-ds-base عبر مؤسستك وتوثيق الإصدارات
2. تطبيق تحديد معدل على مستوى الشبكة على منافذ LDAP (389/636) لتقييد تكرار الرسائل من مصادر واحدة
3. نشر قواعد جدار حماية LDAP لحظر الطلبات التي تحتوي على عدد غير طبيعي من الضوابط (>100 ضابط لكل رسالة)
4. تفعيل تسجيل خادم LDAP على مستوى DEBUG لالتقاط أنماط الضوابط المريبة
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تطبيق حدود الاتصال لكل عنوان IP مصدر (أقصى 10 اتصالات متزامنة)
2. تكوين قيم انتهاء الصلاحية LDAP بقوة (30-60 ثانية للاتصالات الخاملة)
3. نشر وكيل عكسي/موازن تحميل مع فحص الطلب لتصفية رسائل LDAP المشوهة
4. تطبيق حصص الموارد (CPU والذاكرة) على مستوى نظام التشغيل باستخدام cgroups/الحاويات
5. إعداد التنبيهات الآلية لارتفاع CPU >80% أو استخدام الذاكرة >85%
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة طلبات LDAP بعدد ضوابط >50 لكل رسالة
2. التنبيه على حركة LDAP المستمرة من عنوان IP واحد يتجاوز 1000 طلب/دقيقة
3. تتبع ارتفاعات عدد خيوط العامل وأنماط تخصيص الذاكرة
4. تسجيل جميع فشل ربط LDAP وإعادة تعيين الاتصال
استراتيجية التصحيح:
1. مراقبة مستودع 389-ds-base GitHub وتنبيهات أمان Red Hat لإصدار التصحيح
2. تحضير بيئة اختبار بتكوين الإنتاج الحالي
3. تخطيط نافذة صيانة للتصحيح بمجرد توفره
4. النظر في الهجرة إلى تطبيقات LDAP بديلة (OpenLDAP مع التصحيحات) إذا تأخر تصحيح 389-ds-base
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Change management procedures
ECC 2024 A.12.3.1 - Segregation of development, test and production environments
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User registration and access rights management
🔵 SAMA CSF
ID.RA-1 - Asset management and vulnerability identification
PR.IP-12 - System and information integrity
DE.CM-1 - Detection and analysis of anomalies
RS.RP-1 - Response planning and procedures
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.12.2.1 - Change management
A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
A.14.2.1 - Secure development policy
A.8.2.1 - User registration and access rights management
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
Requirement 6.2 - Security patches and updates
Requirement 11.2 - Vulnerability scanning
Requirement 12.2 - Configuration standards