# CVE-2026-119281: MariaDB Connector/J: Server could switch character_set_results away from UTF-8 without the client noticing

Status: published. Published: 2026-10-29. Updated: 2026-11-04.

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

- fix: org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (Maven): OSV reports a fixed version 3.3.7. Check the advisory for supported release branches. (source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x) — https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x
- fix: org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (Maven): OSV reports a fixed version 3.4.5. Check the advisory for supported release branches. (source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x) — https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x
- fix: org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (Maven): OSV reports a fixed version 3.5.11. Check the advisory for supported release branches. (source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x) — https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x

## Affected products and versions

- mariadb-corporation / mariadb-connector-j: >= 3.0.0, < 3.3.7 (affected); >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.5 (affected); >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.11 (affected). Source: CNA: GitHub_M
-  / org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client): 3.0.1-beta (affected, Maven); 3.0.10 (affected, Maven); 3.0.11 (affected, Maven); 3.0.2-rc (affected, Maven); 3.0.3 (affected, Maven); 3.0.4 (affected, Maven); 3.0.5 (affected, Maven); 3.0.6 (affected, Maven); 3.0.7 (affected, Maven); 3.0.8 (affected, Maven); 3.0.9 (affected, Maven); 3.1.0 (affected, Maven); 3.1.1 (affected, Maven); 3.1.2 (affected, Maven); 3.1.3 (affected, Maven); 3.1.4 (affected, Maven); 3.2.0 (affected, Maven); 3.3.0 (affected, Maven); 3.3.1 (affected, Maven); 3.3.2 (affected, Maven); 3.3.3 (affected, Maven); 3.3.4 (affected, Maven); 3.3.5 (affected, Maven); 3.3.6 (affected, Maven); Ecosystem version events: introduced 3.0.0; fixed 3.3.7. Source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x
-  / org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client): 3.4.0 (affected, Maven); 3.4.1 (affected, Maven); 3.4.2 (affected, Maven); 3.4.3 (affected, Maven); 3.4.4 (affected, Maven); Ecosystem version events: introduced 3.4.0; fixed 3.4.5. Source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x
-  / org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client (org.mariadb.jdbc:mariadb-java-client): 3.5.0 (affected, Maven); 3.5.1 (affected, Maven); 3.5.10 (affected, Maven); 3.5.2 (affected, Maven); 3.5.3 (affected, Maven); 3.5.4 (affected, Maven); 3.5.5 (affected, Maven); 3.5.6 (affected, Maven); 3.5.7 (affected, Maven); 3.5.8 (affected, Maven); 3.5.9 (affected, Maven); Ecosystem version events: introduced 3.5.0; fixed 3.5.11. Source: OSV GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 5.9 (medium); CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N; source: CNA: GitHub_M

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.28% as of 2026-11-03; percentile 20.93%

- SSVC: exploitation none; automatable no; technical impact partial; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: CWE-838

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/security/advisories/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_CONFIRM)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/commit/af5e565eb171cfc66ea8e948ddc616abed0c4623 (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/commit/d51b968c1b795c73d24e0b3f960205b7bc82d423 (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/commit/fdabe74a7df6dce1d6c099f4d0ca1e2acc25919a (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/releases/tag/3.3.7 (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/releases/tag/3.4.5 (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-connector-j/releases/tag/3.5.11 (CNA: GitHub_M; x_refsource_MISC)

- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x (OSV / GitHub Security Advisories; advisory)

- https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x (OSV / GitHub Security Advisories; osv)

## Provenance

- CNA: GitHub_M: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-119281; retrieved 2026-11-04; source updated 2026-11-04

- OSV / GitHub Security Advisories: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-grfq-r75j-rw9x; retrieved 2026-11-04; source updated 2026-10-30

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-119281; retrieved 2026-11-04; source updated Not reported

Revision: 943e5ae98ca3a84ae2d8f5e231082ad99884cf266cb25188f8ce4fd66aad4cad

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