CVE-2026-55854: MariaDB Connector/Node.js: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information and Insufficiently Protected Credentials in mariadb

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.9 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-28 · updated 2026-09-08
Weakness: CWE-319

Description

MariaDB Connector/Node.js is used to connect applications developed on Node.js to MariaDB and MySQL databases. Prior to 3.2.4, 3.3.3, 3.4.6, and 3.5.3, MariaDB Connector/Node.js can disclose an account password when PAM dialog authentication is negotiated over an insecure transport. In lib/cmd/handshake/auth/pam-password-auth.js and lib/cmd/handshake/authentication.js, the SendPamAuthPacketFactory behavior for the server-side plugin dialog lacked the secure-transport gate applied to mysql_clear_password. With the default sslMode=DISABLE and restrictedAuth=null settings, a hostile or on-path server can send an Authentication Switch Request for dialog over plain TCP, causing the connector to return the account password in cleartext. Properly verified TLS and a local Unix socket prevent this path, while fingerprint-only server identity validation is not sufficient. This issue is fixed in versions 3.2.4, 3.3.3, 3.4.6, and 3.5.3.

Affected products

mariadb-corporation mariadb-connector-nodejs: before 3.2.4; from 3.3.0, < 3.3.3; from 3.4.0, < 3.4.6; from 3.5.0, < 3.5.3

References

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