MariaDB has Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information and Insufficiently Protected Credentials

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

5.9 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-55854: 0.42% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 36.07 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary When PAM (dialog) authentication is used, the connector can be coerced into sending the account password in cleartext over an insecure connection. A hostile or man-in-the-middle server can trigger this with the default configuration, disclosing the user's password. Details The mysqlclearpassword plugin is gated behind a secure connection: the driver refuses to transmit the password in cleartext over plain TCP. The sibling PAM plugin handler (SendPamAuthPacketFactory, server-side plugin name dialog) did not override that gate and inherited the default value false, so it was not subject to the same secure-transport requirement. As a result, a hostile or man-in-the-middle server can issue an Authentication Switch Request for the dialog plugin over plain TCP, and the driver responds with the user's password in cleartext. With the default configuration (sslMode=DISABLE, restrictedAuth=null) this is reachable with no non-default options. Am I affected? You are affected if all of…

Published by the source

28 Aug 2026, 22:04 UTC

Last modified by the source

28 Aug 2026, 22:04 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:01 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-42r5-vhpq-m858

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-55854

Advisory: MariaDB has Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information and Insufficiently Protected Credentials
IDs: CVE-2026-55854, GHSA-42r5-vhpq-m858
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-55854 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:01 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.9)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: mariadb 3.5.3, 3.4.6, 3.3.3, 3.2.4. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm mariadb: affected < 3.2.4; >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.3; >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.6; >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.3; fixed in 3.2.4, 3.5.3, 3.3.3, 3.4.6

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls mariadb --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on mariadb.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-42r5-vhpq-m858 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-42r5-vhpq-m858 lists affected ranges: npm mariadb >=0 =3.3.0 =3.4.0 =3.5.0 <3.5.3)

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