/ 
perl-5.8.7
/ perldelta
Security Advisories (29)
CVE-2007-5116 (2007-11-07)

Buffer overflow in the polymorphic opcode support in the Regular Expression Engine (regcomp.c) in Perl 5.8 allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code by switching from byte to Unicode (UTF) characters in a regular expression.

CVE-2026-8376 (2026-05-25)

Perl versions through 5.43.10 have a heap buffer overflow when compiling regular expressions with a repeated fixed string on 32-bit builds. Perl_study_chunk in regcomp_study.c checked the size of the joined substring buffer in characters rather than bytes. For a quantified fixed substring with a large minimum count, the byte length mincount * l could overflow SSize_t, producing an undersized SvGROW allocation; the subsequent copy writes past the end of the buffer. A caller that compiles an attacker-controlled regular expression on a 32-bit perl build triggers a heap buffer overflow at compile time.

CVE-2016-1238 (2016-08-02)

(1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/piconv, (9) cpan/Encode/bin/ucmlint, (10) cpan/Encode/bin/unidump, (11) cpan/ExtUtils-MakeMaker/bin/instmodsh, (12) cpan/IO-Compress/bin/zipdetails, (13) cpan/JSON-PP/bin/json_pp, (14) cpan/Test-Harness/bin/prove, (15) dist/ExtUtils-ParseXS/lib/ExtUtils/xsubpp, (16) dist/Module-CoreList/corelist, (17) ext/Pod-Html/bin/pod2html, (18) utils/c2ph.PL, (19) utils/h2ph.PL, (20) utils/h2xs.PL, (21) utils/libnetcfg.PL, (22) utils/perlbug.PL, (23) utils/perldoc.PL, (24) utils/perlivp.PL, and (25) utils/splain.PL in Perl 5.x before 5.22.3-RC2 and 5.24 before 5.24.1-RC2 do not properly remove . (period) characters from the end of the includes directory array, which might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse module under the current working directory.

CVE-2013-1667 (2013-03-14)

The rehash mechanism in Perl 5.8.2 through 5.16.x allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption and crash) via a crafted hash key.

CVE-2008-1927 (2008-04-24)

Double free vulnerability in Perl 5.8.8 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and crash) via a crafted regular expression containing UTF8 characters. NOTE: this issue might only be present on certain operating systems.

CVE-2023-47100

In Perl before 5.38.2, S_parse_uniprop_string in regcomp.c can write to unallocated space because a property name associated with a \p{...} regular expression construct is mishandled. The earliest affected version is 5.30.0.

CVE-2026-13221 (2026-07-13)

Perl versions through 5.43.9 produce silently incorrect regular expression matches when an alternation of more than 65535 fixed string branches is compiled into a trie in Perl_study_chunk. When such branches are combined into a trie, the delta between the first branch and the shared tail is stored in a 16-bit field. A branch count above 65535 overflows the field, and the trie's match decision table is truncated with no warning or error. A pattern of this shape produces false positive matches (matching strings it should not) and false negative matches (failing to match strings it should). When such a pattern gates an access or filtering decision, the result is wrong.

CVE-2020-10543 (2020-06-05)

Perl before 5.30.3 on 32-bit platforms allows a heap-based buffer overflow because nested regular expression quantifiers have an integer overflow.

CVE-2018-18314 (2018-12-07)

Perl before 5.26.3 has a buffer overflow via a crafted regular expression that triggers invalid write operations.

CVE-2018-18313 (2018-12-07)

Perl before 5.26.3 has a buffer over-read via a crafted regular expression that triggers disclosure of sensitive information from process memory.

CVE-2018-18312 (2018-12-05)

Perl before 5.26.3 and 5.28.0 before 5.28.1 has a buffer overflow via a crafted regular expression that triggers invalid write operations.

CVE-2018-18311 (2018-12-07)

Perl before 5.26.3 and 5.28.x before 5.28.1 has a buffer overflow via a crafted regular expression that triggers invalid write operations.

CVE-2005-3962 (2005-12-01)

Integer overflow in the format string functionality (Perl_sv_vcatpvfn) in Perl 5.9.2 and 5.8.6 Perl allows attackers to overwrite arbitrary memory and possibly execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers with large values, which causes an integer wrap and leads to a buffer overflow, as demonstrated using format string vulnerabilities in Perl applications.

CVE-2023-47039 (2023-10-30)

Perl for Windows relies on the system path environment variable to find the shell (cmd.exe). When running an executable which uses Windows Perl interpreter, Perl attempts to find and execute cmd.exe within the operating system. However, due to path search order issues, Perl initially looks for cmd.exe in the current working directory. An attacker with limited privileges can exploit this behavior by placing cmd.exe in locations with weak permissions, such as C:\ProgramData. By doing so, when an administrator attempts to use this executable from these compromised locations, arbitrary code can be executed.

CVE-2026-15534 (2026-08-09)

Perl versions through 5.45.1 have out-of-bounds heap reads and writes during regular expression matching via an undersized superlinear cache in S_regmatch. The regex engine's superlinear cache holds one bit per subject position for each participating WHILEM node, so the bit count is the subject length plus one times the number of nodes. Nothing checks that product for positive overflow of the signed 32-bit count: a 286331153 byte subject matched against a pattern with 15 participating nodes stores the count as 14, leaving a two byte cache. The cache is then indexed from the real match position and node number, so reads go past the end of the allocation, and on failure CACHEsayNO sets a bit past it. A caller that matches an attacker controlled subject of this size against a pattern of this shape can crash the process or corrupt heap memory.

CVE-2026-57432 (2026-07-13)

Perl versions through 5.43.10 have an integer overflow in S_measure_struct leading to an out-of-bounds heap read in pack and unpack. S_measure_struct adds each item's size times its repeat count to a running total with no overflow check, so a large repeat count in a pack or unpack template wraps the signed SSize_t total negative. The @, X, and x position codes then guard their moves with a signed length comparison that passes when the length is negative, advancing the buffer pointer out of bounds. A template derived from untrusted input can read heap memory past the buffer and return it to the caller.

CVE-2015-8608 (2017-02-07)

The VDir::MapPathA and VDir::MapPathW functions in Perl 5.22 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) drive letter or (2) pInName argument.

CVE-2011-2728 (2012-12-21)

The bsd_glob function in the File::Glob module for Perl before 5.14.2 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a glob expression with the GLOB_ALTDIRFUNC flag, which triggers an uninitialized pointer dereference.

CVE-2020-12723 (2020-06-05)

regcomp.c in Perl before 5.30.3 allows a buffer overflow via a crafted regular expression because of recursive S_study_chunk calls.

CVE-2020-10878 (2020-06-05)

Perl before 5.30.3 has an integer overflow related to mishandling of a "PL_regkind[OP(n)] == NOTHING" situation. A crafted regular expression could lead to malformed bytecode with a possibility of instruction injection.

CVE-2018-6913 (2018-04-17)

Heap-based buffer overflow in the pack function in Perl before 5.26.2 allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large item count.

CVE-2015-8853 (2016-05-25)

The (1) S_reghop3, (2) S_reghop4, and (3) S_reghopmaybe3 functions in regexec.c in Perl before 5.24.0 allow context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via crafted utf-8 data, as demonstrated by "a\x80."

CVE-2010-4777 (2014-02-10)

The Perl_reg_numbered_buff_fetch function in Perl 5.10.0, 5.12.0, 5.14.0, and other versions, when running with debugging enabled, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (assertion failure and application exit) via crafted input that is not properly handled when using certain regular expressions, as demonstrated by causing SpamAssassin and OCSInventory to crash.

CVE-2010-1158 (2010-04-20)

Integer overflow in the regular expression engine in Perl 5.8.x allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (stack consumption and application crash) by matching a crafted regular expression against a long string.

CVE-2009-3626 (2009-10-29)

Perl 5.10.1 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a UTF-8 character with a large, invalid codepoint, which is not properly handled during a regular-expression match.

CVE-2012-5195 (2012-12-18)

Heap-based buffer overflow in the Perl_repeatcpy function in util.c in Perl 5.12.x before 5.12.5, 5.14.x before 5.14.3, and 5.15.x before 15.15.5 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption and crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via the 'x' string repeat operator.

CVE-2016-2381 (2016-04-08)

Perl might allow context-dependent attackers to bypass the taint protection mechanism in a child process via duplicate environment variables in envp.

CVE-2013-7422 (2015-08-16)

Integer underflow in regcomp.c in Perl before 5.20, as used in Apple OS X before 10.10.5 and other products, allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a long digit string associated with an invalid backreference within a regular expression.

CVE-2011-1487 (2011-04-11)

The (1) lc, (2) lcfirst, (3) uc, and (4) ucfirst functions in Perl 5.10.x, 5.11.x, and 5.12.x through 5.12.3, and 5.13.x through 5.13.11, do not apply the taint attribute to the return value upon processing tainted input, which might allow context-dependent attackers to bypass the taint protection mechanism via a crafted string.

NAME

perldelta - what is new for perl v5.8.7

DESCRIPTION

This document describes differences between the 5.8.6 release and the 5.8.7 release.

Incompatible Changes

There are no changes incompatible with 5.8.6.

Core Enhancements

Unicode Character Database 4.1.0

The copy of the Unicode Character Database included in Perl 5.8 has been updated to 4.1.0 from 4.0.1. See http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode4.1.0/#NotableChanges for the notable changes.

suidperl less insecure

A pair of exploits in suidperl involving debugging code have been closed.

For new projects the core perl team strongly recommends that you use dedicated, single purpose security tools such as sudo in preference to suidperl.

Optional site customization script

The perl interpreter can be built to allow the use of a site customization script. By default this is not enabled, to be consistent with previous perl releases. To use this, add -Dusesitecustomize to the command line flags when running the Configure script. See also "-f" in perlrun.

Config.pm is now much smaller.

Config.pm is now about 3K rather than 32K, with the infrequently used code and %Config values loaded on demand. This is transparent to the programmer, but means that most code will save parsing and loading 29K of script (for example, code that uses File::Find).

Modules and Pragmata

  • B upgraded to version 1.09

  • base upgraded to version 2.07

  • bignum upgraded to version 0.17

  • bytes upgraded to version 1.02

  • Carp upgraded to version 1.04

  • CGI upgraded to version 3.10

  • Class::ISA upgraded to version 0.33

  • Data::Dumper upgraded to version 2.121_02

  • DB_File upgraded to version 1.811

  • Devel::PPPort upgraded to version 3.06

  • Digest upgraded to version 1.10

  • Encode upgraded to version 2.10

  • FileCache upgraded to version 1.05

  • File::Path upgraded to version 1.07

  • File::Temp upgraded to version 0.16

  • IO::File upgraded to version 1.11

  • IO::Socket upgraded to version 1.28

  • Math::BigInt upgraded to version 1.77

  • Math::BigRat upgraded to version 0.15

  • overload upgraded to version 1.03

  • PathTools upgraded to version 3.05

  • Pod::HTML upgraded to version 1.0503

  • Pod::Perldoc upgraded to version 3.14

  • Pod::LaTeX upgraded to version 0.58

  • Pod::Parser upgraded to version 1.30

  • Symbol upgraded to version 1.06

  • Term::ANSIColor upgraded to version 1.09

  • Test::Harness upgraded to version 2.48

  • Test::Simple upgraded to version 0.54

  • Text::Wrap upgraded to version 2001.09293, to fix a bug when wrap() was called with a non-space separator.

  • threads::shared upgraded to version 0.93

  • Time::HiRes upgraded to version 1.66

  • Time::Local upgraded to version 1.11

  • Unicode::Normalize upgraded to version 0.32

  • utf8 upgraded to version 1.05

  • Win32 upgraded to version 0.24, which provides Win32::GetFileVersion

Utility Changes

find2perl enhancements

find2perl has new options -iname, -path and -ipath.

Performance Enhancements

The internal pointer mapping hash used during ithreads cloning now uses an arena for memory allocation. In tests this reduced ithreads cloning time by about 10%.

Installation and Configuration Improvements

  • The Win32 "dmake" makefile.mk has been updated to make it compatible with the latest versions of dmake.

  • PERL_MALLOC, DEBUG_MSTATS, PERL_HASH_SEED_EXPLICIT and NO_HASH_SEED should now work in Win32 makefiles.

Selected Bug Fixes

  • The socket() function on Win32 has been fixed so that it is able to use transport providers which specify a protocol of 0 (meaning any protocol is allowed) once more. (This was broken in 5.8.6, and typically caused the use of ICMP sockets to fail.)

  • Another obscure bug involving substr and UTF-8 caused by bad internal offset caching has been identified and fixed.

  • A bug involving the loading of UTF-8 tables by the regexp engine has been fixed - code such as "\x{100}" =~ /[[:print:]]/ will no longer give corrupt results.

  • Case conversion operations such as uc on a long Unicode string could exhaust memory. This has been fixed.

  • index/rindex were buggy for some combinations of Unicode and non-Unicode data. This has been fixed.

  • read (and presumably sysread) would expose the UTF-8 internals when reading from a byte oriented file handle into a UTF-8 scalar. This has been fixed.

  • Several pack/unpack bug fixes:

    • Checksums with b or B formats were broken.

    • unpack checksums could overflow with the C format.

    • U0 and C0 are now scoped to () pack sub-templates.

    • Counted length prefixes now don't change C0/U0 mode.

    • pack Z0 used to destroy the preceding character.

    • P/p pack formats used to only recognise literal undef

  • Using closures with ithreads could cause perl to crash. This was due to failure to correctly lock internal OP structures, and has been fixed.

  • The return value of close now correctly reflects any file errors that occur while flushing the handle's data, instead of just giving failure if the actual underlying file close operation failed.

  • not() || 1 used to segfault. not() now behaves like not(0), which was the pre 5.6.0 behaviour.

  • h2ph has various enhancements to cope with constructs in header files that used to result in incorrect or invalid output.

New or Changed Diagnostics

There is a new taint error, "%ENV is aliased to %s". This error is thrown when taint checks are enabled and when *ENV has been aliased, so that %ENV has no env-magic anymore and hence the environment cannot be verified as taint-free.

The internals of pack and unpack have been updated. All legitimate templates should work as before, but there may be some changes in the error reported for complex failure cases. Any behaviour changes for non-error cases are bugs, and should be reported.

Changed Internals

There has been a fair amount of refactoring of the C source code, partly to make it tidier and more maintainable. The resulting object code and the perl binary may well be smaller than 5.8.6, and hopefully faster in some cases, but apart from this there should be no user-detectable changes.

${^UTF8LOCALE} has been added to give perl space access to PL_utf8locale.

The size of the arenas used to allocate SV heads and most SV bodies can now be changed at compile time. The old size was 1008 bytes, the new default size is 4080 bytes.

Known Problems

Unicode strings returned from overloaded operators can be buggy. This is a long standing bug reported since 5.8.6 was released, but we do not yet have a suitable fix for it.

Platform Specific Problems

On UNICOS, lib/Math/BigInt/t/bigintc.t hangs burning CPU. ext/B/t/bytecode.t and ext/Socket/t/socketpair.t both fail tests. These are unlikely to be resolved, as our valiant UNICOS porter's last Cray is being decommissioned.

Reporting Bugs

If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at http://bugs.perl.org. There may also be information at http://www.perl.org, the Perl Home Page.

If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the perlbug program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of perl -V, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team. You can browse and search the Perl 5 bugs at http://bugs.perl.org/

SEE ALSO

The Changes file for exhaustive details on what changed.

The INSTALL file for how to build Perl.

The README file for general stuff.

The Artistic and Copying files for copyright information.