CVE-2026-8376
Perl versions up to 5.43.10 on 32‑bit systems have a heap buffer overflow when compiling regular expressions that contain a repeated fixed string. The bug occurs during regex compilation, not during execution, and can be triggered by an attacker-controlled pattern. It allows an attacker to corrupt memory on the heap.
No official fix yet. If none appears within 45 days of first tracking, this entry is removed automatically.
Who is affected
Perl 5.43.10 and earlier on 32‑bit builds.
Real-world impact
An attacker could exploit the overflow to overwrite memory on the heap, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or a crash of the Perl interpreter.
Why this severity
The CVSS score of 9.8 reflects that the vulnerability is exploitable over the network (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), and has no user interaction (UI:N). It can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) with low attack complexity (AC:L) and is not mitigated by any special conditions (S:U).
What to do about it
No official fix or mitigation is documented in the sources yet. Monitor the vendor advisory and apply the patch as soon as it is released.
No fix documented in sources
Timeline
- May 26, 2026 · May 26, 2026PublishedDisclosed and added to the National Vulnerability Database.
- Jul 23, 2026 · 12d agoAdvisory updatedThe NVD record was last revised.
How it’s attacked
References & advisories
- github.com/Perl/perl5/commit/5e7f119eb…patch
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/…mailing listthird party advisory