diff --git a/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_ber.rs b/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_ber.rs
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_ber.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,706 @@
+//! Minimal BER (ASN.1) reader/writer for LDAPv3 bind + search messages.
+//!
+//! The Phase 06 LDAP stub at [`super::ldap_server`] speaks a custom
+//! plaintext `SEARCH <filter>\n` / `COUNT <n>\n` framed-line protocol so
+//! per-language harnesses can drive it without linking a real LDAP
+//! client.  The deferred work for that phase tracks "tier (b)" — a
+//! real LDAPv3 ASN.1 BER wire round-trip so a harness using
+//! `javax.naming.directory.InitialDirContext` (or any other stock LDAP
+//! client) can talk to the stub directly.
+//!
+//! This module is the unblocking primitive: a zero-dependency BER
+//! reader+writer that covers exactly the tags LDAPv3 bind +
+//! search-request +  search-result-entry + search-result-done messages
+//! need.  It deliberately rejects everything else so a malformed
+//! payload cannot exfiltrate state through the parser; rejection falls
+//! through to `None` and the caller short-circuits to the plaintext
+//! fallback path.
+//!
+//! # Scope
+//!
+//! Universal tags: `INTEGER` (0x02), `OCTET STRING` (0x04),
+//! `ENUMERATED` (0x0A), `SEQUENCE` (0x30).
+//!
+//! Application tags (LDAP RFC 4511 §4.1):
+//! `BindRequest` (0x60), `BindResponse` (0x61), `SearchRequest` (0x63),
+//! `SearchResultEntry` (0x64), `SearchResultDone` (0x65).
+//!
+//! Context-specific tags inside `Filter` (RFC 4511 §4.5.1):
+//! and [0], or [1], not [2], equalityMatch [3], substrings [4],
+//! greaterOrEqual [5], lessOrEqual [6], present [7], approxMatch [8].
+//! Plus simple-auth [0] inside `AuthenticationChoice`.
+//!
+//! Length encoding: short-form (single byte 0x00-0x7F) and long-form
+//! (0x81-0x84 length-of-length, value up to 32 bits).  Indefinite
+//! length (0x80) is rejected — LDAP DER never uses it.
+//!
+//! Integer encoding: two's-complement, big-endian, minimum-byte form
+//! (LDAP integers are non-negative `MessageID` / version / result-code
+//! values, but the decoder accepts the full two's-complement range so
+//! a hand-rolled client that emits leading zero bytes still parses).
+//!
+//! # Filter rendering
+//!
+//! The decoded `SearchRequest` filter is re-rendered into the
+//! RFC 4515 string syntax (`(uid=alice)`, `(|(uid=alice)(uid=*))`) so
+//! the existing [`super::ldap_server::LdapStub::evaluate`] subset
+//! matcher consumes it without a parallel evaluator.  Only the four
+//! filter shapes the matcher already covers are rendered; anything
+//! richer (`>=`, `<=`, `~=`, `not`) collapses to `*` so an exotic
+//! adversarial payload over-matches rather than zero-matches.
+
+#![cfg(feature = "dynamic")]
+
+/// LDAPv3 BER tag bytes the stub recognises.
+pub mod tags {
+    /// Universal primitive integer (RFC 4511 §5).
+    pub const INTEGER: u8 = 0x02;
+    /// Universal primitive octet string.
+    pub const OCTET_STRING: u8 = 0x04;
+    /// Universal primitive enumerated.
+    pub const ENUMERATED: u8 = 0x0A;
+    /// Universal constructed sequence.
+    pub const SEQUENCE: u8 = 0x30;
+
+    /// `BindRequest` `[APPLICATION 0]` constructed (RFC 4511 §4.2).
+    pub const BIND_REQUEST: u8 = 0x60;
+    /// `BindResponse` `[APPLICATION 1]` constructed.
+    pub const BIND_RESPONSE: u8 = 0x61;
+    /// `SearchRequest` `[APPLICATION 3]` constructed.
+    pub const SEARCH_REQUEST: u8 = 0x63;
+    /// `SearchResultEntry` `[APPLICATION 4]` constructed.
+    pub const SEARCH_RESULT_ENTRY: u8 = 0x64;
+    /// `SearchResultDone` `[APPLICATION 5]` constructed.
+    pub const SEARCH_RESULT_DONE: u8 = 0x65;
+
+    /// `simple` `[0]` primitive OCTET STRING inside
+    /// `AuthenticationChoice`.
+    pub const AUTH_SIMPLE: u8 = 0x80;
+
+    /// Filter `and` `[0]` constructed SET.
+    pub const FILTER_AND: u8 = 0xA0;
+    /// Filter `or` `[1]` constructed SET.
+    pub const FILTER_OR: u8 = 0xA1;
+    /// Filter `not` `[2]` constructed wrapper.
+    pub const FILTER_NOT: u8 = 0xA2;
+    /// Filter `equalityMatch` `[3]` constructed
+    /// `AttributeValueAssertion`.
+    pub const FILTER_EQUALITY: u8 = 0xA3;
+    /// Filter `substrings` `[4]` constructed.
+    pub const FILTER_SUBSTRINGS: u8 = 0xA4;
+    /// Filter `present` `[7]` primitive `AttributeDescription`.
+    pub const FILTER_PRESENT: u8 = 0x87;
+
+    /// Substring `initial` `[0]` primitive.
+    pub const SUBSTR_INITIAL: u8 = 0x80;
+    /// Substring `any` `[1]` primitive.
+    pub const SUBSTR_ANY: u8 = 0x81;
+    /// Substring `final` `[2]` primitive.
+    pub const SUBSTR_FINAL: u8 = 0x82;
+}
+
+/// Decoded TLV view.  `body` is borrowed from the source buffer; the
+/// caller never has to allocate during parsing.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+pub struct Tlv<'a> {
+    /// Raw tag byte.  Match against [`tags`] constants.
+    pub tag: u8,
+    /// The value-octets slice (length-prefix already stripped).
+    pub body: &'a [u8],
+    /// Offset into the source buffer immediately after this TLV.
+    pub end: usize,
+}
+
+/// Read a single TLV starting at `offset` in `buf`.  Returns `None`
+/// when the buffer is too short, the length is indefinite (0x80), or
+/// the long-form length-of-length exceeds 4 bytes (>4 GiB messages are
+/// out of scope for the in-process stub).
+pub fn read_tlv(buf: &[u8], offset: usize) -> Option<Tlv<'_>> {
+    if offset >= buf.len() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let tag = buf[offset];
+    let first_len = *buf.get(offset + 1)?;
+    let (length, length_consumed) = if first_len & 0x80 == 0 {
+        (first_len as usize, 1usize)
+    } else {
+        let length_of_length = (first_len & 0x7F) as usize;
+        if length_of_length == 0 || length_of_length > 4 {
+            // 0x80 is indefinite length; >4 bytes is too long for the
+            // in-process stub.
+            return None;
+        }
+        let len_start = offset + 2;
+        let len_end = len_start + length_of_length;
+        if len_end > buf.len() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let mut acc: usize = 0;
+        for &b in &buf[len_start..len_end] {
+            acc = (acc << 8) | (b as usize);
+        }
+        (acc, 1 + length_of_length)
+    };
+    let body_start = offset + 1 + length_consumed;
+    let body_end = body_start.checked_add(length)?;
+    if body_end > buf.len() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    Some(Tlv {
+        tag,
+        body: &buf[body_start..body_end],
+        end: body_end,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Decode an `INTEGER` value-octets slice into an `i64`.  Rejects
+/// inputs longer than 8 bytes — LDAP versions, message IDs, and result
+/// codes all fit in 32 bits.
+pub fn decode_integer(body: &[u8]) -> Option<i64> {
+    if body.is_empty() || body.len() > 8 {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let sign_extend: i64 = if body[0] & 0x80 != 0 { -1 } else { 0 };
+    let mut acc: i64 = sign_extend;
+    for &b in body {
+        acc = (acc << 8) | (b as i64 & 0xFF);
+    }
+    Some(acc)
+}
+
+/// Append an `INTEGER` TLV to `out`.  Minimum-byte two's-complement
+/// encoding.
+pub fn write_integer(out: &mut Vec<u8>, n: i64) {
+    let mut bytes = n.to_be_bytes().to_vec();
+    while bytes.len() > 1
+        && ((bytes[0] == 0x00 && bytes[1] & 0x80 == 0)
+            || (bytes[0] == 0xFF && bytes[1] & 0x80 != 0))
+    {
+        bytes.remove(0);
+    }
+    write_tlv(out, tags::INTEGER, &bytes);
+}
+
+/// Append an `ENUMERATED` TLV to `out`.  Single-byte encoding (LDAP
+/// scope / result-code values all fit in one byte).
+pub fn write_enumerated(out: &mut Vec<u8>, n: u8) {
+    write_tlv(out, tags::ENUMERATED, &[n]);
+}
+
+/// Append an `OCTET STRING` TLV to `out`.
+pub fn write_octet_string(out: &mut Vec<u8>, s: &[u8]) {
+    write_tlv(out, tags::OCTET_STRING, s);
+}
+
+/// Append a TLV with arbitrary tag + body to `out`.  Encodes length in
+/// short-form when `body.len() < 128`; long-form otherwise.
+pub fn write_tlv(out: &mut Vec<u8>, tag: u8, body: &[u8]) {
+    out.push(tag);
+    write_length(out, body.len());
+    out.extend_from_slice(body);
+}
+
+fn write_length(out: &mut Vec<u8>, len: usize) {
+    if len < 0x80 {
+        out.push(len as u8);
+        return;
+    }
+    let mut bytes: Vec<u8> = Vec::with_capacity(5);
+    let mut n = len;
+    while n != 0 {
+        bytes.push((n & 0xFF) as u8);
+        n >>= 8;
+    }
+    bytes.reverse();
+    out.push(0x80 | bytes.len() as u8);
+    out.extend_from_slice(&bytes);
+}
+
+/// Wrap `body` as a `SEQUENCE` TLV.  Convenience helper for assembling
+/// LDAP messages.
+pub fn wrap_sequence(body: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+    let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(body.len() + 4);
+    write_tlv(&mut out, tags::SEQUENCE, body);
+    out
+}
+
+/// Decoded LDAPMessage header — protocol operation TLV's tag plus
+/// body, ready to dispatch on.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+pub struct LdapMessageHeader<'a> {
+    /// The LDAP message ID the client picked.  Echoed verbatim on the
+    /// matching response.
+    pub message_id: i64,
+    /// The protocol op application tag (e.g. [`tags::BIND_REQUEST`]).
+    pub op_tag: u8,
+    /// The protocol op value-octets.  Pass into [`decode_bind_request`]
+    /// / [`decode_search_request`] depending on `op_tag`.
+    pub op_body: &'a [u8],
+}
+
+/// Decode an LDAP message header.  The outer `SEQUENCE` must already
+/// be the top-level TLV in `buf`.  Returns `None` for malformed input,
+/// missing fields, or unrecognised protocol-op classes.
+pub fn decode_ldap_message(buf: &[u8]) -> Option<LdapMessageHeader<'_>> {
+    let outer = read_tlv(buf, 0)?;
+    if outer.tag != tags::SEQUENCE {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let msg_id_tlv = read_tlv(outer.body, 0)?;
+    if msg_id_tlv.tag != tags::INTEGER {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let message_id = decode_integer(msg_id_tlv.body)?;
+    let op_tlv = read_tlv(outer.body, msg_id_tlv.end)?;
+    Some(LdapMessageHeader {
+        message_id,
+        op_tag: op_tlv.tag,
+        op_body: op_tlv.body,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Decoded `BindRequest` (RFC 4511 §4.2).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct BindRequest<'a> {
+    /// Protocol version (always 3 for LDAPv3).
+    pub version: i64,
+    /// The bind DN ("" for anonymous bind).
+    pub name: &'a [u8],
+    /// `simple` authentication credential bytes, if present.  Other
+    /// `AuthenticationChoice` variants (SASL) collapse to `None`.
+    pub simple_password: Option<&'a [u8]>,
+}
+
+/// Decode the value-octets of a `BindRequest`.
+pub fn decode_bind_request(body: &[u8]) -> Option<BindRequest<'_>> {
+    let version_tlv = read_tlv(body, 0)?;
+    if version_tlv.tag != tags::INTEGER {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let version = decode_integer(version_tlv.body)?;
+    let name_tlv = read_tlv(body, version_tlv.end)?;
+    if name_tlv.tag != tags::OCTET_STRING {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let auth_tlv = read_tlv(body, name_tlv.end)?;
+    let simple_password = if auth_tlv.tag == tags::AUTH_SIMPLE {
+        Some(auth_tlv.body)
+    } else {
+        None
+    };
+    Some(BindRequest {
+        version,
+        name: name_tlv.body,
+        simple_password,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Decoded `SearchRequest` (RFC 4511 §4.5.1).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct SearchRequest<'a> {
+    /// Base object DN the search is anchored at.
+    pub base_object: &'a [u8],
+    /// Scope enum value (0=baseObject, 1=singleLevel, 2=wholeSubtree).
+    pub scope: u8,
+    /// Filter rendered into the RFC 4515 string subset the existing
+    /// [`super::ldap_server::LdapStub::evaluate`] matcher consumes.
+    pub filter: String,
+}
+
+/// Decode the value-octets of a `SearchRequest`.
+pub fn decode_search_request(body: &[u8]) -> Option<SearchRequest<'_>> {
+    let base_tlv = read_tlv(body, 0)?;
+    if base_tlv.tag != tags::OCTET_STRING {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let scope_tlv = read_tlv(body, base_tlv.end)?;
+    if scope_tlv.tag != tags::ENUMERATED || scope_tlv.body.len() != 1 {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let scope = scope_tlv.body[0];
+    let deref_tlv = read_tlv(body, scope_tlv.end)?;
+    let size_tlv = read_tlv(body, deref_tlv.end)?;
+    let time_tlv = read_tlv(body, size_tlv.end)?;
+    let typesonly_tlv = read_tlv(body, time_tlv.end)?;
+    let filter_tlv = read_tlv(body, typesonly_tlv.end)?;
+    let filter = render_filter(filter_tlv.tag, filter_tlv.body);
+    Some(SearchRequest {
+        base_object: base_tlv.body,
+        scope,
+        filter,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Render a decoded filter TLV into the RFC 4515 subset
+/// [`super::ldap_server::LdapStub::evaluate`] accepts.  Unrecognised
+/// shapes collapse to bare `*` so adversarial payloads over-match.
+pub fn render_filter(tag: u8, body: &[u8]) -> String {
+    match tag {
+        tags::FILTER_AND => render_set("&", body),
+        tags::FILTER_OR => render_set("|", body),
+        tags::FILTER_EQUALITY => render_equality(body),
+        tags::FILTER_PRESENT => {
+            let attr = String::from_utf8_lossy(body);
+            format!("({attr}=*)")
+        }
+        tags::FILTER_SUBSTRINGS => render_substrings(body),
+        _ => "*".to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
+fn render_set(operator: &str, body: &[u8]) -> String {
+    let mut out = String::from("(");
+    out.push_str(operator);
+    let mut cur = 0usize;
+    while cur < body.len() {
+        let Some(child) = read_tlv(body, cur) else {
+            // Truncated SET — break out and let the outer caller fall
+            // through to over-match.
+            out.push('*');
+            break;
+        };
+        out.push_str(&render_filter(child.tag, child.body));
+        cur = child.end;
+    }
+    out.push(')');
+    out
+}
+
+fn render_equality(body: &[u8]) -> String {
+    let Some(attr_tlv) = read_tlv(body, 0) else {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    };
+    if attr_tlv.tag != tags::OCTET_STRING {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    }
+    let Some(value_tlv) = read_tlv(body, attr_tlv.end) else {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    };
+    if value_tlv.tag != tags::OCTET_STRING {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    }
+    let attr = String::from_utf8_lossy(attr_tlv.body);
+    let value = String::from_utf8_lossy(value_tlv.body);
+    format!("({attr}={value})")
+}
+
+fn render_substrings(body: &[u8]) -> String {
+    let Some(attr_tlv) = read_tlv(body, 0) else {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    };
+    if attr_tlv.tag != tags::OCTET_STRING {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    }
+    let Some(seq_tlv) = read_tlv(body, attr_tlv.end) else {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    };
+    if seq_tlv.tag != tags::SEQUENCE {
+        return "*".to_string();
+    }
+    let attr = String::from_utf8_lossy(attr_tlv.body);
+    let mut initial = String::new();
+    let mut any_parts: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    let mut tail = String::new();
+    let mut cur = 0usize;
+    while cur < seq_tlv.body.len() {
+        let Some(piece) = read_tlv(seq_tlv.body, cur) else {
+            break;
+        };
+        let text = String::from_utf8_lossy(piece.body).into_owned();
+        match piece.tag {
+            tags::SUBSTR_INITIAL => initial = text,
+            tags::SUBSTR_ANY => any_parts.push(text),
+            tags::SUBSTR_FINAL => tail = text,
+            _ => {}
+        }
+        cur = piece.end;
+    }
+    let mut joined = initial;
+    if !any_parts.is_empty() {
+        joined.push('*');
+        joined.push_str(&any_parts.join("*"));
+    }
+    joined.push('*');
+    joined.push_str(&tail);
+    format!("({attr}={joined})")
+}
+
+/// Encode a complete `LDAPMessage` carrying `op_tag` + `op_body` as
+/// the protocol op.  Wraps everything in the outer `SEQUENCE`.
+pub fn encode_ldap_message(message_id: i64, op_tag: u8, op_body: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+    let mut inner = Vec::with_capacity(op_body.len() + 8);
+    write_integer(&mut inner, message_id);
+    write_tlv(&mut inner, op_tag, op_body);
+    wrap_sequence(&inner)
+}
+
+/// LDAP result codes the stub uses (RFC 4511 §4.1.9).
+pub mod result_codes {
+    /// Operation completed successfully.
+    pub const SUCCESS: u8 = 0;
+    /// Operation rejected — used here for unrecognised request shapes.
+    pub const UNWILLING_TO_PERFORM: u8 = 53;
+}
+
+/// Encode a minimal `BindResponse` (success, empty matchedDN, empty
+/// diagnosticMessage).
+pub fn encode_bind_response(message_id: i64, result_code: u8) -> Vec<u8> {
+    let mut body = Vec::with_capacity(8);
+    write_enumerated(&mut body, result_code);
+    write_octet_string(&mut body, b"");
+    write_octet_string(&mut body, b"");
+    encode_ldap_message(message_id, tags::BIND_RESPONSE, &body)
+}
+
+/// Encode a `SearchResultEntry` carrying `dn` with no attributes.  The
+/// Phase 06 LDAP stub's directory model only ever publishes the DN —
+/// callers that need attributes can extend this once a fixture surfaces
+/// the need.
+pub fn encode_search_result_entry(message_id: i64, dn: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+    let mut body = Vec::with_capacity(dn.len() + 8);
+    write_octet_string(&mut body, dn);
+    // PartialAttributeList ::= SEQUENCE OF partial Attribute — empty.
+    write_tlv(&mut body, tags::SEQUENCE, &[]);
+    encode_ldap_message(message_id, tags::SEARCH_RESULT_ENTRY, &body)
+}
+
+/// Encode a `SearchResultDone` (RFC 4511 §4.5.2).
+pub fn encode_search_result_done(message_id: i64, result_code: u8) -> Vec<u8> {
+    let mut body = Vec::with_capacity(8);
+    write_enumerated(&mut body, result_code);
+    write_octet_string(&mut body, b"");
+    write_octet_string(&mut body, b"");
+    encode_ldap_message(message_id, tags::SEARCH_RESULT_DONE, &body)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_tlv_short_form_length() {
+        // tag=0x04, len=0x03, body="abc"
+        let buf = b"\x04\x03abc";
+        let tlv = read_tlv(buf, 0).expect("tlv");
+        assert_eq!(tlv.tag, 0x04);
+        assert_eq!(tlv.body, b"abc");
+        assert_eq!(tlv.end, 5);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_tlv_long_form_length() {
+        // 200-byte body → length 0x81 0xC8
+        let mut buf = vec![0x04, 0x81, 200];
+        buf.extend(std::iter::repeat_n(b'a', 200));
+        let tlv = read_tlv(&buf, 0).expect("tlv");
+        assert_eq!(tlv.body.len(), 200);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_tlv_rejects_indefinite_length() {
+        let buf = [0x30u8, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00];
+        assert!(read_tlv(&buf, 0).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn read_tlv_rejects_truncated_body() {
+        let buf = [0x04u8, 0x05, b'a', b'b'];
+        assert!(read_tlv(&buf, 0).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn decode_integer_handles_single_byte() {
+        assert_eq!(decode_integer(&[3]), Some(3));
+        assert_eq!(decode_integer(&[0]), Some(0));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn decode_integer_handles_negative_via_sign_extension() {
+        // 0xFF is -1 in two's complement
+        assert_eq!(decode_integer(&[0xFF]), Some(-1));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn decode_integer_rejects_empty_and_oversized() {
+        assert!(decode_integer(&[]).is_none());
+        assert!(decode_integer(&[0u8; 9]).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn write_integer_minimum_byte_form() {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        write_integer(&mut out, 0);
+        assert_eq!(out, vec![0x02, 0x01, 0x00]);
+
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        write_integer(&mut out, 127);
+        assert_eq!(out, vec![0x02, 0x01, 0x7F]);
+
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        write_integer(&mut out, 128);
+        // Need leading zero byte because high bit of 0x80 would make
+        // the value negative under two's-complement.
+        assert_eq!(out, vec![0x02, 0x02, 0x00, 0x80]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn integer_round_trips() {
+        for n in [0i64, 1, 3, 127, 128, 255, 256, 65535, 65536, -1, -128, -129] {
+            let mut buf = Vec::new();
+            write_integer(&mut buf, n);
+            let tlv = read_tlv(&buf, 0).expect("tlv");
+            assert_eq!(tlv.tag, tags::INTEGER);
+            assert_eq!(decode_integer(tlv.body), Some(n));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn long_form_length_round_trip() {
+        let mut buf = Vec::new();
+        let body = vec![0xABu8; 1024];
+        write_tlv(&mut buf, tags::OCTET_STRING, &body);
+        let tlv = read_tlv(&buf, 0).expect("tlv");
+        assert_eq!(tlv.body, &body[..]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bind_request_round_trip() {
+        // version=3, name="cn=admin", simple_password="secret"
+        let mut body = Vec::new();
+        write_integer(&mut body, 3);
+        write_octet_string(&mut body, b"cn=admin");
+        write_tlv(&mut body, tags::AUTH_SIMPLE, b"secret");
+        let msg = encode_ldap_message(/*id=*/ 7, tags::BIND_REQUEST, &body);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        assert_eq!(hdr.message_id, 7);
+        assert_eq!(hdr.op_tag, tags::BIND_REQUEST);
+        let req = decode_bind_request(hdr.op_body).expect("bind body");
+        assert_eq!(req.version, 3);
+        assert_eq!(req.name, b"cn=admin");
+        assert_eq!(req.simple_password, Some(b"secret".as_slice()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bind_response_round_trip_decodes_via_header() {
+        let msg = encode_bind_response(/*id=*/ 7, result_codes::SUCCESS);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        assert_eq!(hdr.message_id, 7);
+        assert_eq!(hdr.op_tag, tags::BIND_RESPONSE);
+        // BindResponse body: ENUMERATED + 2x OCTET STRING
+        let tlv = read_tlv(hdr.op_body, 0).expect("rc");
+        assert_eq!(tlv.tag, tags::ENUMERATED);
+        assert_eq!(tlv.body, &[0]);
+    }
+
+    fn build_search_msg(message_id: i64, filter_tag: u8, filter_body: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut body = Vec::new();
+        write_octet_string(&mut body, b"ou=people,dc=nyx,dc=test");
+        write_enumerated(&mut body, 2); // wholeSubtree
+        write_enumerated(&mut body, 0); // derefAliases neverDerefAliases
+        write_integer(&mut body, 0); // sizeLimit
+        write_integer(&mut body, 0); // timeLimit
+        // typesOnly BOOLEAN false; encoded as 0x01 0x01 0x00
+        write_tlv(&mut body, 0x01, &[0x00]);
+        write_tlv(&mut body, filter_tag, filter_body);
+        // attributes: empty SEQUENCE
+        write_tlv(&mut body, tags::SEQUENCE, &[]);
+        encode_ldap_message(message_id, tags::SEARCH_REQUEST, &body)
+    }
+
+    fn equality_body(attr: &[u8], value: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut body = Vec::new();
+        write_octet_string(&mut body, attr);
+        write_octet_string(&mut body, value);
+        body
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_equality_filter_renders_to_rfc4515() {
+        let eq = equality_body(b"uid", b"alice");
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.base_object, b"ou=people,dc=nyx,dc=test");
+        assert_eq!(req.scope, 2);
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "(uid=alice)");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_present_filter_renders_with_wildcard() {
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, tags::FILTER_PRESENT, b"uid");
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "(uid=*)");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_or_filter_nests_equalities() {
+        let mut set_body = Vec::new();
+        let eq_a = equality_body(b"uid", b"alice");
+        let eq_b = equality_body(b"uid", b"bob");
+        write_tlv(&mut set_body, tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq_a);
+        write_tlv(&mut set_body, tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq_b);
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, tags::FILTER_OR, &set_body);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "(|(uid=alice)(uid=bob))");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_and_filter_nests_equalities() {
+        let mut set_body = Vec::new();
+        let eq_a = equality_body(b"uid", b"alice");
+        let eq_b = equality_body(b"cn", b"admin");
+        write_tlv(&mut set_body, tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq_a);
+        write_tlv(&mut set_body, tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq_b);
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, tags::FILTER_AND, &set_body);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "(&(uid=alice)(cn=admin))");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_substrings_filter_renders_prefix_star_suffix() {
+        let mut sub_body = Vec::new();
+        write_octet_string(&mut sub_body, b"uid");
+        let mut inner = Vec::new();
+        write_tlv(&mut inner, tags::SUBSTR_INITIAL, b"al");
+        write_tlv(&mut inner, tags::SUBSTR_FINAL, b"ce");
+        write_tlv(&mut sub_body, tags::SEQUENCE, &inner);
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, tags::FILTER_SUBSTRINGS, &sub_body);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "(uid=al*ce)");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn search_request_unknown_filter_collapses_to_wildcard() {
+        // 0xA5 = greaterOrEqual — not rendered, falls through to "*".
+        let body = equality_body(b"uid", b"alice");
+        let msg = build_search_msg(11, 0xA5, &body);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        let req = decode_search_request(hdr.op_body).expect("search");
+        assert_eq!(req.filter, "*");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn encode_search_result_entry_round_trip() {
+        let msg = encode_search_result_entry(/*id=*/ 11, b"uid=alice,ou=people");
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        assert_eq!(hdr.message_id, 11);
+        assert_eq!(hdr.op_tag, tags::SEARCH_RESULT_ENTRY);
+        let dn_tlv = read_tlv(hdr.op_body, 0).expect("dn");
+        assert_eq!(dn_tlv.tag, tags::OCTET_STRING);
+        assert_eq!(dn_tlv.body, b"uid=alice,ou=people");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn encode_search_result_done_round_trip() {
+        let msg = encode_search_result_done(/*id=*/ 11, result_codes::SUCCESS);
+        let hdr = decode_ldap_message(&msg).expect("header");
+        assert_eq!(hdr.op_tag, tags::SEARCH_RESULT_DONE);
+        let rc = read_tlv(hdr.op_body, 0).expect("rc");
+        assert_eq!(rc.tag, tags::ENUMERATED);
+        assert_eq!(rc.body, &[0]);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_server.rs b/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_server.rs
index 223bb09c..77bc5ed1 100644
--- a/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_server.rs
+++ b/src/dynamic/stubs/ldap_server.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,24 @@
 //! Endpoint: `127.0.0.1:{port}` (no scheme; the harness composes
 //! `ldap://` itself if it wants).
 //!
+//! # BER (LDAPv3) dispatch
+//!
+//! The accept loop peeks the first byte on each connection.  When it
+//! sees the universal `SEQUENCE` tag (`0x30`) — the leading byte of
+//! every well-formed LDAPv3 [`LDAPMessage`] — it routes the
+//! conversation through [`super::ldap_ber`] so a harness using a stock
+//! LDAP client (`javax.naming.directory.InitialDirContext`,
+//! `python-ldap`, `ldap3`, …) can talk to the stub on the LDAPv3 wire
+//! protocol.  The plaintext `SEARCH <filter>\n` framing remains for
+//! every other first-byte value, so the existing tier-(a) harnesses
+//! keep round-tripping unchanged.
+//!
+//! No env var gates this — the dispatch is byte-shape driven so a
+//! tier-(a) shim that accidentally emits a leading `0x30` will skip
+//! the BER path's failure-mode fallback (the BER decoder bails to
+//! `None` on a non-LDAPv3 payload, which closes the connection without
+//! corrupting state).
+//!
 //! # Directory state
 //!
 //! Three users are provisioned at startup: `alice`, `bob`, `carol`.  An
@@ -41,9 +59,10 @@
 //! Signals the accept thread to shut down and connects to itself to
 //! wake the blocking `accept()`.
 
+use super::ldap_ber;
 use super::{StubEvent, StubKind, StubProvider, monotonic_ns};
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
-use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Write};
+use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Read, Write};
 use std::net::{TcpListener, TcpStream};
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
@@ -167,11 +186,32 @@ fn accept_loop(
     }
 }
 
-fn handle_connection(mut stream: TcpStream, max_bytes: usize, events: &Arc<Mutex<Vec<StubEvent>>>) {
-    let mut reader = match stream.try_clone() {
-        Ok(s) => BufReader::new(s),
+fn handle_connection(stream: TcpStream, max_bytes: usize, events: &Arc<Mutex<Vec<StubEvent>>>) {
+    let reader_stream = match stream.try_clone() {
+        Ok(s) => s,
         Err(_) => return,
     };
+    let mut reader = BufReader::new(reader_stream);
+    // Peek the first byte to decide between the plaintext and BER
+    // protocol paths.  `fill_buf` does not consume — the chosen
+    // handler reads from `reader` again.
+    let first_byte = match reader.fill_buf() {
+        Ok(buf) if !buf.is_empty() => buf[0],
+        _ => return,
+    };
+    if first_byte == ldap_ber::tags::SEQUENCE {
+        handle_ber_connection(reader, stream, max_bytes, events);
+    } else {
+        handle_plaintext_connection(reader, stream, max_bytes, events);
+    }
+}
+
+fn handle_plaintext_connection(
+    mut reader: BufReader<TcpStream>,
+    mut stream: TcpStream,
+    max_bytes: usize,
+    events: &Arc<Mutex<Vec<StubEvent>>>,
+) {
     let mut line = String::new();
     match reader.read_line(&mut line) {
         Ok(0) => return,
@@ -212,6 +252,118 @@ fn handle_connection(mut stream: TcpStream, max_bytes: usize, events: &Arc<Mutex
     }
 }
 
+/// LDAPv3 BER dispatch: bind then search loop.  Returns silently on
+/// any decode error so a malformed payload never corrupts state.
+fn handle_ber_connection(
+    mut reader: BufReader<TcpStream>,
+    mut stream: TcpStream,
+    max_bytes: usize,
+    events: &Arc<Mutex<Vec<StubEvent>>>,
+) {
+    loop {
+        let Some(msg) = read_ber_message(&mut reader, max_bytes) else {
+            return;
+        };
+        let Some(hdr) = ldap_ber::decode_ldap_message(&msg) else {
+            return;
+        };
+        match hdr.op_tag {
+            ldap_ber::tags::BIND_REQUEST => {
+                // Anonymous + simple binds both succeed — the stub
+                // does not enforce credentials.
+                let reply =
+                    ldap_ber::encode_bind_response(hdr.message_id, ldap_ber::result_codes::SUCCESS);
+                if stream.write_all(&reply).is_err() {
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
+            ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_REQUEST => {
+                let Some(req) = ldap_ber::decode_search_request(hdr.op_body) else {
+                    let done = ldap_ber::encode_search_result_done(
+                        hdr.message_id,
+                        ldap_ber::result_codes::UNWILLING_TO_PERFORM,
+                    );
+                    let _ = stream.write_all(&done);
+                    return;
+                };
+                let matches = match_filter(&req.filter);
+                let count = matches.len();
+                for uid in &matches {
+                    let dn = format!("uid={uid},ou=people,dc=nyx,dc=test");
+                    let entry =
+                        ldap_ber::encode_search_result_entry(hdr.message_id, dn.as_bytes());
+                    if stream.write_all(&entry).is_err() {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                }
+                let done = ldap_ber::encode_search_result_done(
+                    hdr.message_id,
+                    ldap_ber::result_codes::SUCCESS,
+                );
+                if stream.write_all(&done).is_err() {
+                    return;
+                }
+                let _ = stream.flush();
+                let ev = StubEvent {
+                    kind: StubKind::Ldap,
+                    captured_at_ns: monotonic_ns(),
+                    summary: format!("SEARCH {filter}", filter = req.filter),
+                    detail: {
+                        let mut d = BTreeMap::new();
+                        d.insert("filter".to_owned(), req.filter);
+                        d.insert("protocol".to_owned(), "ldapv3".to_owned());
+                        d.insert("entries_returned".to_owned(), count.to_string());
+                        d
+                    },
+                };
+                if let Ok(mut g) = events.lock() {
+                    g.push(ev);
+                }
+            }
+            _ => {
+                // Unbind / abandon / extended / etc. — bail.  The
+                // verifier oracle only cares about search results.
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Read a single LDAPv3 BER `LDAPMessage` off the wire.  Parses just
+/// enough of the outer TLV to compute the message length, then reads
+/// exactly that many body bytes.  Returns `None` for malformed
+/// framing or when the message size exceeds `max_bytes`.
+fn read_ber_message(reader: &mut BufReader<TcpStream>, max_bytes: usize) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    let mut header = vec![0u8; 2];
+    reader.read_exact(&mut header).ok()?;
+    if header[0] != ldap_ber::tags::SEQUENCE {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let body_len = if header[1] & 0x80 == 0 {
+        header[1] as usize
+    } else {
+        let length_of_length = (header[1] & 0x7F) as usize;
+        if length_of_length == 0 || length_of_length > 4 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let mut len_bytes = vec![0u8; length_of_length];
+        reader.read_exact(&mut len_bytes).ok()?;
+        let mut acc: usize = 0;
+        for &b in &len_bytes {
+            acc = (acc << 8) | (b as usize);
+        }
+        header.extend_from_slice(&len_bytes);
+        acc
+    };
+    if header.len() + body_len > max_bytes {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let mut body = vec![0u8; body_len];
+    reader.read_exact(&mut body).ok()?;
+    header.extend_from_slice(&body);
+    Some(header)
+}
+
 /// RFC-4515-subset matcher.  See module docs for the grammar.
 fn match_filter(filter: &str) -> Vec<&'static str> {
     let trimmed = filter.trim();
@@ -453,4 +605,133 @@ mod tests {
         std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(50));
         let _ = TcpListener::bind(format!("127.0.0.1:{port}"));
     }
+
+    fn build_ber_bind(message_id: i64) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut body = Vec::new();
+        ldap_ber::write_integer(&mut body, 3);
+        ldap_ber::write_octet_string(&mut body, b"");
+        ldap_ber::write_tlv(&mut body, ldap_ber::tags::AUTH_SIMPLE, b"");
+        ldap_ber::encode_ldap_message(message_id, ldap_ber::tags::BIND_REQUEST, &body)
+    }
+
+    fn build_ber_search(message_id: i64, filter_tag: u8, filter_body: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut body = Vec::new();
+        ldap_ber::write_octet_string(&mut body, b"ou=people,dc=nyx,dc=test");
+        ldap_ber::write_enumerated(&mut body, 2);
+        ldap_ber::write_enumerated(&mut body, 0);
+        ldap_ber::write_integer(&mut body, 0);
+        ldap_ber::write_integer(&mut body, 0);
+        ldap_ber::write_tlv(&mut body, 0x01, &[0x00]);
+        ldap_ber::write_tlv(&mut body, filter_tag, filter_body);
+        ldap_ber::write_tlv(&mut body, ldap_ber::tags::SEQUENCE, &[]);
+        ldap_ber::encode_ldap_message(message_id, ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_REQUEST, &body)
+    }
+
+    fn read_ber_reply(stream: &mut TcpStream) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut buf = Vec::new();
+        // Read until the peer closes (the BER handler stays open
+        // until the client disconnects).  A short read timeout was
+        // configured at accept time, so a stuck reader would unblock
+        // there anyway.
+        let _ = stream.read_to_end(&mut buf);
+        buf
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ber_bind_then_search_wildcard_returns_three_entries() {
+        let stub = LdapStub::start().unwrap();
+        let mut s = TcpStream::connect(format!("127.0.0.1:{}", stub.port())).unwrap();
+        let bind = build_ber_bind(1);
+        s.write_all(&bind).unwrap();
+        let search = build_ber_search(2, ldap_ber::tags::FILTER_PRESENT, b"uid");
+        s.write_all(&search).unwrap();
+        s.shutdown(std::net::Shutdown::Write).unwrap();
+        let reply = read_ber_reply(&mut s);
+        // Walk the reply: BindResponse (msg id 1, tag 0x61), then
+        // 3x SearchResultEntry (tag 0x64), then SearchResultDone
+        // (tag 0x65).
+        let bind_resp = ldap_ber::read_tlv(&reply, 0).expect("bind tlv");
+        assert_eq!(bind_resp.tag, ldap_ber::tags::SEQUENCE);
+        let bind_hdr = ldap_ber::decode_ldap_message(&reply[..bind_resp.end]).expect("bind hdr");
+        assert_eq!(bind_hdr.op_tag, ldap_ber::tags::BIND_RESPONSE);
+        assert_eq!(bind_hdr.message_id, 1);
+
+        let mut cur = bind_resp.end;
+        let mut entries: usize = 0;
+        let mut saw_done = false;
+        while cur < reply.len() {
+            let tlv = ldap_ber::read_tlv(&reply, cur).expect("tlv");
+            assert_eq!(tlv.tag, ldap_ber::tags::SEQUENCE);
+            let hdr = ldap_ber::decode_ldap_message(&reply[cur..tlv.end]).expect("hdr");
+            match hdr.op_tag {
+                ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_RESULT_ENTRY => entries += 1,
+                ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_RESULT_DONE => {
+                    saw_done = true;
+                    break;
+                }
+                _ => panic!("unexpected op tag {:#x}", hdr.op_tag),
+            }
+            cur = tlv.end;
+        }
+        assert_eq!(entries, 3);
+        assert!(saw_done);
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
+        let events = stub.drain_events();
+        assert_eq!(events.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(
+            events[0].detail.get("entries_returned").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("3"),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            events[0].detail.get("protocol").map(String::as_str),
+            Some("ldapv3"),
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ber_search_concrete_uid_returns_one_entry() {
+        let stub = LdapStub::start().unwrap();
+        let mut s = TcpStream::connect(format!("127.0.0.1:{}", stub.port())).unwrap();
+        s.write_all(&build_ber_bind(1)).unwrap();
+        let mut eq_body = Vec::new();
+        ldap_ber::write_octet_string(&mut eq_body, b"uid");
+        ldap_ber::write_octet_string(&mut eq_body, b"alice");
+        s.write_all(&build_ber_search(2, ldap_ber::tags::FILTER_EQUALITY, &eq_body))
+            .unwrap();
+        s.shutdown(std::net::Shutdown::Write).unwrap();
+        let reply = read_ber_reply(&mut s);
+        // Skip past the BindResponse.
+        let bind_resp = ldap_ber::read_tlv(&reply, 0).expect("bind tlv");
+        let mut cur = bind_resp.end;
+        let mut entry_dns: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+        let mut saw_done = false;
+        while cur < reply.len() {
+            let tlv = ldap_ber::read_tlv(&reply, cur).expect("tlv");
+            let hdr = ldap_ber::decode_ldap_message(&reply[cur..tlv.end]).expect("hdr");
+            if hdr.op_tag == ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_RESULT_ENTRY {
+                let dn_tlv = ldap_ber::read_tlv(hdr.op_body, 0).expect("dn");
+                entry_dns.push(String::from_utf8_lossy(dn_tlv.body).into_owned());
+            } else if hdr.op_tag == ldap_ber::tags::SEARCH_RESULT_DONE {
+                saw_done = true;
+                break;
+            }
+            cur = tlv.end;
+        }
+        assert_eq!(entry_dns, vec!["uid=alice,ou=people,dc=nyx,dc=test"]);
+        assert!(saw_done);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn plaintext_path_still_works_after_ber_branch_added() {
+        // Same shape as `search_request_returns_three_for_wildcard_via_socket`
+        // but the leading byte is `S` (0x53), not `0x30`, so the
+        // accept-loop dispatches plaintext.
+        let stub = LdapStub::start().unwrap();
+        let mut s = TcpStream::connect(format!("127.0.0.1:{}", stub.port())).unwrap();
+        s.write_all(b"SEARCH (uid=*)\n").unwrap();
+        s.flush().unwrap();
+        let mut out = String::new();
+        s.read_to_string(&mut out).unwrap();
+        assert!(out.starts_with("COUNT 3\n"), "got {out:?}");
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/dynamic/stubs/mod.rs b/src/dynamic/stubs/mod.rs
index 6267f603..a88cbe1b 100644
--- a/src/dynamic/stubs/mod.rs
+++ b/src/dynamic/stubs/mod.rs
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ pub mod broker_rabbit;
 pub mod broker_sqs;
 pub mod filesystem;
 pub mod http;
+pub mod ldap_ber;
 pub mod ldap_server;
 pub mod mocks;
 pub mod redis;