# CVE-2026-3494: MariaDB Server Audit Plugin Comment Handling Bypass

> Authenticated users can bypass audit logging for specific SQL statements by using comment prefixes, hiding activity from administrators.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** 3 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-3494, AZL-79365, AZL-79550, BELL-CVE-2026-3494, BIT-mariadb-2026-3494, BIT-mariadb-min-2026-3494, BIT-mysql-client-2026-3494, CLSA-2026-1787212689, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-3494, ECHO-12eb-af63-4c96, GHSA-qmjm-438j-w485, MINI-6f9v-6m2w-3m4p, MINI-grhg-9jqf-fm27, MINI-h8f6-h788-8hhm, MINI-hh3g-3m7g-7hg3, MINI-hjr6-w9m3-4qqg, MINI-pc94-j84x-c8mh, MINI-wf49-vqg2-5859, OESA-2026-2395, OESA-2026-2396, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-3494

## What is CVE-2026-3494?

CVE-2026-3494 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 3 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In MariaDB server version through 11.8.5, when server audit plugin is enabled with server_audit_events variable configured with QUERY_DCL, QUERY_DDL, or QUERY_DML filtering, if an authenticated database user invokes a SQL statement prefixed with double-hyphen (—) or hash (#) style comments, the statement is not logged.

Weakness: CWE-778 (Insufficient Logging)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-3494?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including mariadb, mariadb-min and mysql-client. It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `mariadb` | Bitnami | All versions | 10.6.25, 10.11.16, 11.4.10, 11.8.6 |
| `mariadb-min` | Bitnami | All versions | 10.6.25, 10.11.16, 11.4.10, 11.8.6 |
| `mysql-client` | Bitnami | All versions | 10.6.25, 10.11.18, 12.0.2 |

Products: Amazon Aurora Mysql, Amazon Relational Database Service, Mariadb Mariadb.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-3494?

Upgrade mariadb to a fixed version for your release line: 10.6.25, 10.11.16, 11.4.10 or 11.8.6.

## Is CVE-2026-3494 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-3494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Reproduction and Analysis of CVE-2026-3494 (github_poc): https://github.com/Kelnor/CVE-2026-3494_Verfication

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-3494 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-3494 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 3 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-3494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- mariadb (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 10.6.25, 10.11.16, 11.4.10, 11.8.6
- mariadb-min (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 10.6.25, 10.11.16, 11.4.10, 11.8.6
- mysql-client (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 10.6.25, 10.11.18, 12.0.2

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-2026-3494/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3494/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-3494
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3494
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-3494

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3494/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.