Description
Cpanel::JSON::XS versions from 4.33 before 4.80 for Perl miss duplicate non-ASCII bare keys, allowing type confusion under dupkeys_as_arrayref in decode_hv.
With allow_barekey, which relaxed enables, a bare key containing a non-ASCII byte is stored as UTF-8 but looked up as raw bytes, so a repeated key escapes the duplicate-key check and replaces the earlier value.
From 4.41, under dupkeys_as_arrayref, a bare repeat replaces the array that collects a key's values with a plain value, and the next quoted repeat pushes onto that value as if it were an array. A JSON integer there is dereferenced as a pointer.
Untrusted JSON decoded with relaxed and dupkeys_as_arrayref can crash the process or dereference an address chosen by a JSON number.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Cpanel-JSON-XS | 4.33 – < 4.80 | 4.80 |
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 | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | 4.80-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | libcpanel-json-xs-perl | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS | 4.800.0-150700.3.9.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4926-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS | 4.800.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12217-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS | 4.800.0-bp160.1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:22187-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 3
- openSUSE-SU-2026:22187-1 Security update for perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Nov 1, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:4926-1 Security update for perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 29, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12217-1 perl-Cpanel-JSON-XS-4.800.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 22, 2026