Description
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.
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 | 5.20.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | perl | 5.20.0-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | perl | 5.20.0-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | perl | 5.18.2-2ubuntu1.1 | USN-2916-1 |
Advisories 1
- USN-2916-1 perl vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
References
- APPLE-SA-2015-08-13-2 vendor-advisory
- http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/commit/0c2990d652e985784f095bba4bc356481a66aa06
- GLSA-201507-11 vendor-advisory
- USN-2916-1 vendor-advisory
- https://support.apple.com/kb/HT205031
- 75704 vdb-entry