Description
The Dumper method in Data::Dumper before 2.154, as used in Perl 5.20.1 and earlier, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (stack consumption and crash) via an Array-Reference with many nested Array-References, which triggers a large number of recursive calls to the DD_dump function.
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 | 5.20.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | perl | 5.20.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | perl | 5.20.1-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | perl | 5.18.2-2ubuntu1.1 | USN-2916-1 |
Advisories 2
- USN-2916-1 perl vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- WID-SEC-2025-0213 Perl: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jan 28, 2025
References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/128422/Perl-5.20.1-Deep-Recursion-Stack-Overflow.html
- 20140925 LSE Leading Security Experts GmbH - LSE-2014-06-10 - Perl CORE - Deep Recursion Stack Overflow mailing-list
- 61441 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2014-11453 vendor-advisory
- MDVSA-2015:136 vendor-advisory
- https://metacpan.org/pod/distribution/Data-Dumper/Changes
- https://www.lsexperts.de/advisories/lse-2014-06-10.txt
- 70142 vdb-entry
- perl-cve20144330-dos(96216) vdb-entry
- [perl.perl5.porters] 20140918 fix for CVE-2014-4330 present in blead mailing-list
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05240731
- USN-2916-1 vendor-advisory
- 20140925 LSE Leading Security Experts GmbH - LSE-2014-06-10 - Perl CORE - Deep Recursion Stack Overflow mailing-list
- http://advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2014-0406.html
- 61961 third-party-advisory
- [oss-security] 20140925 LSE Leading Security Experts GmbH - LSE-2014-06-10 - Perl CORE - Deep Recursion Stack Overflow mailing-list