Client-side denial of service via malformed NUL escaping
Published Oct 10, 2025 · Updated Oct 14, 2025
Improper NUL escaping in python-ldap before 3.4.5 allows remote attackers to interrupt client workflows through crafted DN input. The ldap.dn.escape_dn_chars() helper replaces U+0000 with a backslash and literal NUL rather than the RFC 4514 hexadecimal form, causing downstream API calls to reject the DN before network I/O. An application must pass attacker-controlled text into this helper; the resulting exception can crash a handler, stall retries, or jam a processing queue.
Summary
What happened
Improper NUL escaping in python-ldap before 3.4.5 allows remote attackers to interrupt client workflows through crafted DN input. The ldap.dn.escape_dn_chars() helper replaces U+0000 with a backslash and literal NUL rather than the RFC 4514 hexadecimal form, causing downstream API calls to reject the DN before network I/O. An application must pass attacker-controlled text into this helper; the resulting exception can crash a handler, stall retries, or jam a processing queue.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-61912
- Published
- Oct 10, 2025
- Updated
- Oct 14, 2025
- Vendor
- python-ldap project
- Product
- python-ldap
- Classifications
- CWE-116, CWE-170, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 10, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 14, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 3.4.5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA-p34h-wq7j-h5v6 proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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