# 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.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Oct 2026
- **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, OESA-2026-1425, OESA-2026-1426, OESA-2026-1427, OESA-2026-1428, OESA-2026-3283, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-22185, SUSE-SU-2026:0256-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-22185

## 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.

Weakness: CWE-191 (Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)), CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22185?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `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.

## Is CVE-2026-22185 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22185 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-22185 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22185 exists.

Affected product: 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-2026-22185/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22185/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-22185
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22185
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-22185

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22185/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.