Description
Sereal::Decoder versions before 5.005 for Perl allow heap out-of-bounds read via crafted input.
In Perl/Decoder/srl_decoder.c, srl_read_object() and srl_read_hash() process a COPY tag, a back-reference whose target byte the decoder re-decodes as a fresh tag. When that target byte matches the SHORT_BINARY pattern (an inline string whose length is encoded in the low bits of the tag), the resulting read is not bounded to precede the COPY tag's own offset and can run past the end of the input buffer. An attacker controlled COPY offset can land inside a previously decoded value rather than on a tag boundary, planting a byte that the decoder reads as a SHORT_BINARY tag and consuming up to 31 following bytes from the heap as a class name (OBJECT path) or hash key (HASH path).
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| YVES | Sereal::Decoder | < 5.005 | 5.005 |
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 | libsereal-decoder-perl | 5.006+ds-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | libsereal-decoder-perl | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | perl-Sereal-Decoder | 5.6.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:10924-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perl-Sereal-Decoder | 4.018-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-1830 |
Advisories 2
- ALAS2023-2026-1830 Important: perl-Sereal-Decoder security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 22, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:10924-1 perl-Sereal-Decoder-5.6.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jun 2, 2026