# CVE-2011-1081: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the OpenLDAP daemon by sending a MODRDN request with an empty OldDN field, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Mar 2011
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2011-1081, GHSA-697q-5f36-g4h9

## What is CVE-2011-1081?

CVE-2011-1081 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Openldap Openldap, published on 20 Mar 2011. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

modrdn.c in slapd in OpenLDAP 2.4.x before 2.4.24 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a relative Distinguished Name (DN) modification request (aka MODRDN operation) that contains an empty value for the OldDN field.

Weakness: CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-1081?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Openldap Openldap.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-1081?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2011-1081 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-1081 exists.

Public exploit code:

- OpenLDAP 2.4.x - 'modrdn' NULL OldDN Remote Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Openldap Openldap

- [CVE-2015-3276](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3276/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-1378](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1378/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-1379](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1379/): Code injection in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-0045](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0045/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2005-4442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4442/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-1081 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-1081 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Openldap Openldap, published on 20 Mar 2011. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-1081 exists.

Affected product: Openldap Openldap. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1081/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1081/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-1081
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1081
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-1081

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1081/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.