Description
DBI versions before 1.652 for Perl allow a heap out-of-bounds write on 32-bit perl via an integer wraparound in the output buffer size computed by preparse.
preparse reserves its output buffer with `newSV(strlen(statement) * 7 + 16)`, budgeting seven output bytes per input byte for the longest ':p99999' expansion. The product is computed in STRLEN, which is 32 bits wide on a 32-bit perl build, so a statement of 613,566,757 bytes multiplies to 4,294,967,299, wraps modulo 2^32 to 3, and reserves 19 bytes. The parser then copies the statement out through a raw pointer with no capacity check, writing the whole 585 MB input past the end of the allocation. The 99,999 placeholder limit does not bound this path, which is reached by ordinary non-placeholder content.
Any caller that passes an untrusted statement of that length to preparse on a 32-bit perl gets a heap out-of-bounds write of attacker controlled bytes. Builds with a 64-bit STRLEN are not affected, since the wrap there needs a statement of about 2.3 exabytes.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | DBI | < 1.652 | 1.652 |
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 | libdbi-perl | 1.652-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | libdbi-perl | 1.652-2~deb13u1 | — |
| Debian 12 | libdbi-perl | 1.643-4+deb12u2 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.647-1ubuntu0.26.04.3 | USN-8841-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.643-4ubuntu0.3 | USN-8841-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.643-3ubuntu0.3 | USN-8841-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.643-1ubuntu0.1+esm3 | USN-8841-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.640-1ubuntu0.3+esm3 | USN-8841-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.634-1ubuntu0.2+esm4 | USN-8841-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | libdbi-perl | 1.630-1ubuntu0.1~esm8 | USN-8841-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | perl-DBI | 1.653.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11754-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | perl-DBI | 1.652-1 | — |
Advisories 2
- USN-8841-1 libdbi-perl vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Sep 30, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11754-1 perl-DBI-1.653.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 12, 2026