Description
Perl 5.10.x allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) by leveraging an ability to inject arguments into a (1) getpeername, (2) readdir, (3) closedir, (4) getsockname, (5) rewinddir, (6) tell, or (7) telldir function call.
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 | 5.12.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | perl | 5.12.0-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | perl | 5.12.0-1 | — |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Exploit-DB 1
- Perl 5.10 - Multiple Null Pointer Dereference Denial of Service Vulnerabilities EDB-35725 · dos · May 3, 2011 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
References
- http://www.toucan-system.com/advisories/tssa-2011-03.txt
- 8248 third-party-advisory
- 1025507 vdb-entry
- perl-functions-dos(67355) vdb-entry
- 47766 vdb-entry
- 20110509 TSSA-2011-03 - Perl : multiple functions null pointer dereference uppon parameters injection mailing-list