CVE-2026-15534

Heap corruption via undersized regex cache

Published Aug 9, 2026 · Updated Aug 9, 2026

Out-of-bounds access in Perl 5.45.1 and earlier allows local users to crash a process or corrupt heap memory during regex matching. S_regmatch multiplies the subject length plus one by the number of participating WHILEM nodes in a signed 32-bit counter without checking positive overflow, then allocates and indexes the cache using the wrapped count. Exploitation requires a caller to match an attacker-controlled subject of roughly 286 MB against a pattern with many participating nodes; the undersized cache permits out-of-bounds reads and writes.

CVSS severity5.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds access in Perl 5.45.1 and earlier allows local users to crash a process or corrupt heap memory during regex matching. S_regmatch multiplies the subject length plus one by the number of participating WHILEM nodes in a signed 32-bit counter without checking positive overflow, then allocates and indexes the cache using the wrapped count. Exploitation requires a caller to match an attacker-controlled subject of roughly 286 MB against a pattern with many participating nodes; the undersized cache permits out-of-bounds reads and writes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-15534
Published
Aug 9, 2026
Updated
Aug 9, 2026
Vendor
The Perl Foundation
Product
Perl
Classifications
CWE-787, CWE-125, CWE-190
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 9, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 9, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=5.45.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Perl Foundation · Perlversion=0 <=5.45.1

Published CVSS scores

5.7CISACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
CWE-190Integer Overflow or Wraparound

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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