CVE-2026-119281

MariaDB Connector/J: Server could switch character_set_results away from UTF-8 without the client noticing

Published Oct 29, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.9 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
MariaDB Connector/J is used to connect applications developed in Java to MariaDB and MySQL databases. From 3.0.0 until 3.3.7, 3.4.5, and 3.5.11, the connector assumed result bytes were UTF-8 but guarded only changes to character_set_client. It did not reject non-UTF-8 character_set_results changes and relied on the server's global session_track_system_variables configuration to report character-set changes. A malicious or compromised server, or a machine-in-the-middle attacker, could suppress tracking or change the result charset so application strings differed from the returned bytes, potentially defeating application-side validation or escaping that depended on the decoded values. This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.7, 3.4.5, and 3.5.11.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x MariaDB Connector/J: Server could switch character_set_results away from UTF-8 without the client noticing
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Mariadb
Mariadb mariadb-connector-j
Mariadb-corporation
Mariadb-corporation mariadb-connector-j
Vendors & Products Mariadb
Mariadb mariadb-connector-j
Mariadb-corporation
Mariadb-corporation mariadb-connector-j
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description MariaDB Connector/J is used to connect applications developed in Java to MariaDB and MySQL databases. From 3.0.0 until 3.3.7, 3.4.5, and 3.5.11, the connector assumed result bytes were UTF-8 but guarded only changes to character_set_client. It did not reject non-UTF-8 character_set_results changes and relied on the server's global session_track_system_variables configuration to report character-set changes. A malicious or compromised server, or a machine-in-the-middle attacker, could suppress tracking or change the result charset so application strings differed from the returned bytes, potentially defeating application-side validation or escaping that depended on the decoded values. This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.7, 3.4.5, and 3.5.11.
Title MariaDB Connector/J: Server could switch character_set_results away from UTF-8 without the client noticing
Weaknesses CWE-838
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Nov 4, 2026, 1:48 AM
Reserved
Oct 29, 2026, 6:50 PM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Oct 29, 2026, 9:17 PM
Modified
Nov 4, 2026, 2:17 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Oct 29, 2026, 8:58 PM