CVE-2026-20746
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedVirtual attribute handling in Ping Identity PingDirectory in affected versions allows only authorized users to exhaust java memory heap when recent login history is enabled and copying virtual attributes that reference ds-privilege-name values.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceMemory exhaustion vulnerability in PingDirectory where authorized users can trigger heap exhaustion by copying virtual attributes that reference ds-privilege-name values when recent login history is enabled. The vulnerability allows authenticated users to cause a denial-of-service condition through uncontrolled memory consumption.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- Authentication
- Y
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- P
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:P/AU:Y/R:U/V:X/RE:M/U:Amber
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify PingDirectory installation and versionRun: dsversion or check for PingDirectory installation directory; compare installed version against vendor release notes for when this vulnerability was addressedAffected if Version is unpatched and falls within the vulnerable release range
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Verify recent login history is enabledCheck PingDirectory configuration for recent login history settings, typically via dsconfig or admin console under authentication settingsAffected if Recent login history feature is enabled on the directory
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Identify virtual attributes referencing ds-privilege-nameReview virtual attribute definitions in the PingDirectory configuration; search for attributes that reference ds-privilege-name valuesAffected if Virtual attributes exist that reference ds-privilege-name values and recent login history is enabled
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Check for memory consumption patternsMonitor heap usage and memory consumption on the PingDirectory server; look for unusual growth during virtual attribute operations or authentication eventsAffected if Heap exhaustion or excessive memory consumption is observed during normal authenticated operations
User is affected if running a vulnerable PingDirectory version with recent login history enabled and virtual attributes referencing ds-privilege-name values present in configuration
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataDisable recent login history or avoid copying virtual attributes that reference ds-privilege-name values; apply vendor patch when available
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20746 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-20746 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data