Worked on the 389-ds-base repository to enhance LDAP security and test reliability in FIPS mode. Addressed certificate verification failures by enabling support for custom CA certificate files during LDAP simple_bind_s operations, ensuring SSCA certificate trust in FIPS environments. Improved test stability by aligning password storage with PBKDF2-SHA512 and removing conditional logic related to FIPS mode from the test suite. Utilized Python for test development and configuration management, focusing on system administration and security best practices. The work emphasized robust testing and secure authentication, contributing to more reliable and compliant LDAP deployments in security-sensitive environments.