---
id: "CVE-2026-119278"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-119278"]
title: "MariaDB Connector/J: malformed auth packet causes memory exhaustion and crash"
severity: "medium"
cvss: 5.9
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["java", "jdbc", "mariadb", "mysql", "package"]
not_affected_if: ["trusted-network-only", "versions-outside-range"]
published_at: "2026-10-29T21:17:21+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-29T21:26:52+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-29T21:28:47+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-119278", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-29T21:26:52+00:00"}]
---

# MariaDB Connector/J: malformed auth packet causes memory exhaustion and crash

MariaDB Connector/J, the Java driver for MariaDB and MySQL, mishandles a server response during caching_sha2_password authentication. A malicious server or a man-in-the-middle can send a packet that forces a huge memory allocation or an unhandled exception from DriverManager.getConnection().

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Fix

- Upgrade to `3.3.7` on the 3.3 line.
- Upgrade to `3.4.5` on the 3.4 line.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-29T21:26:52+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-119278

## From the sources

MariaDB Connector/J is used to connect applications developed in Java to MariaDB and MySQL databases. From 3.0.0 until 3.3.7 and 3.4.5, during caching_sha2_password authentication, the authentication-more-data response was treated as a length-encoded byte array, memory was allocated from the server-declared length, and authResult[0] was accessed without ensuring a byte existed. A malicious or compromised server, or a machine-in-the-middle attacker, could declare a very large length or send an empty response before any password was transmitted. The malformed packet could cause excessive allocation or an unchecked ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException escaping from DriverManager.getConnection(). This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.7 and 3.4.5.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_