Description
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.
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 | perl | 5.8.8-12 | — |
| Debian 13 | perl | 5.8.8-12 | — |
| Debian 12 | perl | 5.8.8-12 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | perl | 5.8.8-11.1+lenny1 | DTSA-78-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | perl | 5.8.8-7etch1 | DSA-1400-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 3.1 | perl | 5.8.4-8sarge6 | DSA-1400-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | perl +1 | 4:5.8.8-10.el5_0.2 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
| RHEL 4 | perl +1 | 3:5.8.5-36.el4_5.2 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
| RHEL 3 | perl +1 | 2:5.8.0-97.EL3 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
| RHEL 3 | perl-CGI | 2:2.89-97.EL3 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
| RHEL 3 | perl-CPAN | 2:1.61-97.EL3 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
| RHEL 3 | perl-DB_File | 2:1.806-97.EL3 | RHSA-2007:0966 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Rhel Application Stack 1 | perl +1 | 4:5.8.8-5.el4s1_2 | RHSA-2007:1011 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | ant | 1.6.5-1jpp_1rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | avalon-logkit | 1.2-2jpp_4rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | axis | 1.2.1-1jpp_3rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | classpathx-jaf | 1.0-2jpp_6rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | classpathx-mail | 1.1.1-2jpp_8rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | geronimo-specs +10 | 1.0-0.M4.1jpp_10rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | jakarta-commons-modeler | 2.0-3jpp_2rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | log4j | 1.2.12-1jpp_1rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | mx4j | 1:3.0.1-1jpp_4rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | pcsc-lite +2 | 1.3.3-3.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-ca | 7.3.0-20.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-java-tools | 7.3.0-10.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-kra | 7.3.0-14.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-manage | 7.3.0-19.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-native-tools | 7.3.0-6.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | rhpki-tks +1 | 7.3.0-13.el4 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | tomcat5 +5 | 5.5.23-0jpp_4rh.16 | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | xerces-j2 | 2.7.1-1jpp_1rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
| Red Hat Certificate System 7 | xml-commons +1 | 1.3.02-2jpp_1rh | RHSA-2010:0602 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | perl | 5.34.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11158-1 |
Advisories 6
- RHSA-2010:0602 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Certificate System 7.3 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- RHSA-2007:0966 Red Hat Security Advisory: perl security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1400-1 perl - arbitrary code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-78-1 perl - arbitrary code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- RHSA-2007:1011 Red Hat Security Advisory: perl security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11158-1 perl-32bit-5.34.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
References
- 27479 third-party-advisory
- DSA-1400 vendor-advisory
- HPSBTU02311 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2007-4238 vdb-entry
- TA07-352A third-party-advisory
- IZ10244 vendor-advisory
- 27936 third-party-advisory
- 20071110 FLEA-2007-0063-1 perl mailing-list
- 28993 third-party-advisory
- IZ10220 vendor-advisory
- https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-1813
- 31524 vendor-advisory
- USN-552-1 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10669 vdb-entry signature
- 1018899 vdb-entry
- ADV-2008-0641 vdb-entry
- 27756 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2007:0966 vendor-advisory
- 29074 third-party-advisory
- 20080108 VMSA-2008-0001 Moderate OpenPegasus PAM Authentication Buffer Overflow and updated service console packages mailing-list
- 27548 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2007:1011 vendor-advisory
- [Security-announce] 20080107 VMSA-2008-0001 Moderate OpenPegasus PAM Authentication Buffer Overflow and updated service console packages mailing-list
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=323571
- 27546 third-party-advisory
- GLSA-200711-28 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2007-3724 vdb-entry
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2008-014.htm
- OpenPKG-SA-2007.023 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=378131
- 231524 vendor-advisory
- 27531 third-party-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2007-12-17 vendor-advisory
- 27515 third-party-advisory
- 27570 third-party-advisory
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307179
- 27613 third-party-advisory
- 28368 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2007:024 vendor-advisory
- 1018985 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2007:207 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2007-4255 vdb-entry
- 20071112 FLEA-2007-0069-1 perl mailing-list
- http://www.ipcop.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=41
- perl-unicode-bo(38270) vdb-entry
- 31208 third-party-advisory
- 28387 third-party-advisory
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2008-0001.html
- ADV-2008-0064 vdb-entry
- 28167 third-party-advisory
- 26350 vdb-entry
- 20080123 UPDATED VMSA-2008-0001.1 Moderate OpenPegasus PAM Authentication Buffer Overflow and updated service console packages mailing-list