📄 Description (English)
A flaw was found in 389 Directory Server. The dereference control plugin does not check for allocation failure before using a BER structure, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the LDAP server when the system is under memory pressure.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-11788 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in 389 Directory Server's dereference control plugin that fails to validate memory allocation, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to crash LDAP services under memory pressure. With a CVSS score of 5.9 and no available patch, this poses a moderate but immediate threat to organizations relying on LDAP for authentication and directory services. The vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely, making it a significant availability risk for critical infrastructure.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Jun 9, 2026 20:19
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability directly impacts Saudi organizations using 389 Directory Server for LDAP-based authentication and directory services. Primary affected sectors include: (1) Banking and Financial Services (SAMA-regulated institutions) relying on LDAP for user authentication and access control; (2) Government agencies (NCA, CITC oversight) using LDAP for identity management; (3) Healthcare providers (MOH, private hospitals) dependent on LDAP for staff authentication; (4) Energy sector (ARAMCO, utilities) using LDAP for critical infrastructure access control; (5) Telecommunications (STC, Mobily) using LDAP for subscriber and employee management. The DoS impact is particularly severe as LDAP service unavailability cascades to dependent applications, potentially affecting thousands of users and critical business operations.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Education
Large Enterprise IT Infrastructure
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
6.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Inventory all 389 Directory Server instances across your organization and document their criticality level
2. Monitor LDAP server logs for unusual connection patterns or memory allocation errors
3. Implement network-level rate limiting on LDAP ports (389/636) to reduce DoS attack surface
4. Enable LDAP connection throttling and implement per-client connection limits
Compensating Controls (until patch available):
5. Deploy LDAP traffic filtering at network perimeter to block suspicious dereference control requests
6. Implement memory monitoring and auto-restart mechanisms for LDAP services
7. Configure LDAP server resource limits (max connections, memory thresholds) to graceful degradation
8. Establish redundant LDAP server architecture with load balancing for high availability
9. Restrict LDAP access to trusted networks only; disable anonymous LDAP queries if possible
Detection Rules:
10. Alert on LDAP server crashes or unexpected restarts
11. Monitor for repeated failed LDAP dereference control operations
12. Track memory utilization spikes on LDAP servers preceding service interruptions
13. Log all LDAP control operations and flag unusual dereference patterns
Patching:
14. Subscribe to 389 Directory Server security advisories for patch availability
15. Prepare patch testing environment immediately upon patch release
16. Establish emergency patching procedures for LDAP infrastructure given criticality
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع مثيلات خادم 389 Directory Server عبر مؤسستك وتوثيق مستوى أهميتها
2. راقب سجلات خادم LDAP للأنماط غير العادية أو أخطاء تخصيص الذاكرة
3. طبق تحديد معدل على مستوى الشبكة على منافذ LDAP (389/636) لتقليل سطح هجوم DoS
4. فعّل تحديد اتصالات LDAP وطبق حدود اتصال لكل عميل
الضوابط البديلة (حتى توفر التصحيح):
5. نشر تصفية حركة LDAP على محيط الشبكة لحجب طلبات التحكم في إلغاء المراجع المريبة
6. طبق مراقبة الذاكرة وآليات إعادة التشغيل التلقائي لخدمات LDAP
7. كوّن حدود موارد خادم LDAP (الحد الأقصى للاتصالات، عتبات الذاكرة) للتدهور الرشيق
8. أنشئ بنية خادم LDAP زائدة عن الحاجة مع موازنة الحمل لتوفر عالي
9. قيّد الوصول إلى LDAP للشبكات الموثوقة فقط؛ عطّل استعلامات LDAP المجهولة إن أمكن
قواعد الكشف:
10. تنبيهات عند توقف خادم LDAP أو إعادة تشغيل غير متوقعة
11. راقب عمليات التحكم في إلغاء المراجع الفاشلة المتكررة في LDAP
12. تتبع ارتفاعات استخدام الذاكرة على خوادم LDAP التي تسبق انقطاع الخدمة
13. سجّل جميع عمليات التحكم في LDAP وحدد أنماط إلغاء المراجع غير العادية
التصحيح:
14. اشترك في تنبيهات أمان خادم 389 Directory Server لتوفر التصحيح
15. جهز بيئة اختبار التصحيح فوراً عند توفر التصحيح
16. أنشئ إجراءات تصحيح طارئة لبنية LDAP نظراً لأهميتها الحرجة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies (availability requirements)
ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 - User Access Management (authentication infrastructure)
ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Change Management (patch management procedures)
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities (vulnerability remediation)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.BE-1 - Business Environment (critical service availability)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control (authentication infrastructure integrity)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection and Analysis (monitoring and alerting)
SAMA CSF RS.MI-1 - Incident Response (DoS mitigation procedures)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.1 - Policies for Information Security (availability policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - User Access Management (authentication controls)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.2 - Protection from Malware (system hardening)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6 - Management of Technical Vulnerabilities (patch management)
ISO 27001:2022 A.13.1 - Network Security (network segmentation)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches (timely patching requirements)
PCI DSS 11.2 - Vulnerability Scanning (regular vulnerability assessments)