Description
Perl-Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE) library before 7.3 backtracks too far when matching certain input bytes against some regex patterns in non-UTF-8 mode, which allows context-dependent attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service (crash), as demonstrated by the "\X?\d" and "\P{L}?\d" patterns.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | glib2.0 | 2.14.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | glib2.0 | 2.14.3-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | glib2.0 | 2.14.3-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | pcre3 | 7.3-1 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | pcre3 | 6.7+7.4-2+lenny1 | DTSA-77-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | kazehakase | 0.4.2-1etch1 | DSA-1570-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | pcre3 | 6.7+7.4-2 | DSA-1399-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 3.1 | pcre3 | 4.5+7.4-1 | DSA-1399-1 |
Advisories 3
- DSA-1570-1 kazehakase - execution of arbitrary code Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-77-1 pcre3 - arbitrary code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-1399-1 pcre3 - arbitrary code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- 30219 third-party-advisory
- 29267 third-party-advisory
- USN-547-1 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200711-30 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2007-4238 vdb-entry
- 20071106 rPSA-2007-0231-1 pcre mailing-list
- TA07-352A third-party-advisory
- 27538 third-party-advisory
- 20071112 FLEA-2007-0064-1 pcre mailing-list
- 28136 third-party-advisory
- DSA-1570 vendor-advisory
- https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-1738
- 27773 third-party-advisory
- 27697 third-party-advisory
- 28406 third-party-advisory
- 27554 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2008-0924 vdb-entry
- pcre-nonutf8-dos(38274) vdb-entry
- 27543 third-party-advisory
- [gtk-devel-list] 20071107 GLib 2.14.3 mailing-list
- 29420 third-party-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2007-12-17 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200805-11 vendor-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2008-03-18 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2007:211 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2008-1842 vendor-advisory
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307179
- 27741 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2007-3790 vdb-entry
- ADV-2007-3725 vdb-entry
- SUSE-SA:2007:062 vendor-advisory
- http://www.pcre.org/changelog.txt
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307562
- 30155 third-party-advisory
- 28720 third-party-advisory
- GLSA-200801-02 vendor-advisory
- http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=198976
- GLSA-200801-19 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200801-18 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1399 vendor-advisory
- 28414 third-party-advisory
- 26346 vdb-entry
- 30106 third-party-advisory
- 28714 third-party-advisory