Unauthenticated access via empty-password LDAP bind
Published Jun 9, 2026 · Updated Jun 9, 2026
Authentication bypass in Spring LDAP allows remote attackers with a valid username to access protected applications through an empty password. The DirContextAuthenticationStrategy implementations pass a non-empty user DN with an empty or null credential to LDAP instead of rejecting it, so servers that permit unauthenticated binds report success. Exploitation requires a valid username and an LDAP server that accepts unauthenticated binds; it bypasses password verification but does not itself disclose LDAP credentials.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in Spring LDAP allows remote attackers with a valid username to access protected applications through an empty password. The DirContextAuthenticationStrategy implementations pass a non-empty user DN with an empty or null credential to LDAP instead of rejecting it, so servers that permit unauthenticated binds report success. Exploitation requires a valid username and an LDAP server that accepts unauthenticated binds; it bypasses password verification but does not itself disclose LDAP credentials.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-41720
- Published
- Jun 9, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 9, 2026
- Vendor
- Spring
- Product
- Spring LDAP
- Classifications
- CWE-287, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 9, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 9, 2026Record 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=2.4.0 <2.4.5
- Affected versionversion=3.2.0 <3.2.18
- Affected versionversion=3.3.0 <3.3.8
- Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.4
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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