CVE-2026-22185 OpenLDAP LMDB mdb_load Heap Buffer Underflow in readline()
A heap buffer underflow in LMDB's mdb_load tool allows attackers to cause a denial of service via malformed input.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-22185?
CVE-2026-22185 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in OpenLDAP, published on 7 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
OpenLDAP Lightning Memory-Mapped Database (LMDB) versions 0.9.14 before 0.9.34, prior to commit 8e1fda8, contain a heap buffer underflow in the readline() function of mdb_load. When processing malformed input containing an embedded NUL byte, an unsigned offset calculation can underflow and cause an out-of-bounds read of one byte before the allocated heap buffer. This can cause mdb_load to crash, leading to a limited denial-of-service condition.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22185?
Linux distribution packages (3)
openldap2_5 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | All versions | 2.5.20+11-150500.11.38.1 |
openldap2_5 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15 SP7 | All versions | 2.5.20+11-150500.11.38.1 |
openldap2_5 openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | All versions | 2.5.20+11-150500.11.38.1 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-22185?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-22185 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22185 exists.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-22185, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-22185, ECHO-baa8-bd1c-cf1b, GHSA-gcc9-wqf3-69qj, OESA-2026-1334, OESA-2026-1335 and 8 more.