CPU exhaustion via quadratic Punycode decoding
Published Sep 22, 2026 · Updated Sep 22, 2026
Algorithmic complexity in Net-IDN-Encode before 2.590 allows attackers to exhaust CPU by decoding an oversized Punycode label. The XS backend repeatedly scans and inserts into its growing UTF-8 buffer, while the pure-Perl backend repeatedly scans a UTF-8-flagged copy. A consuming application must pass an unbounded label to decode_punycode, domain_to_unicode, or uts46_to_unicode, causing a hang under sustained processing.
Summary
What happened
Algorithmic complexity in Net-IDN-Encode before 2.590 allows attackers to exhaust CPU by decoding an oversized Punycode label. The XS backend repeatedly scans and inserts into its growing UTF-8 buffer, while the pure-Perl backend repeatedly scans a UTF-8-flagged copy. A consuming application must pass an unbounded label to decode_punycode, domain_to_unicode, or uts46_to_unicode, causing a hang under sustained processing.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-87079
- Published
- Sep 22, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 22, 2026
- Vendor
- Paul Johnson
- Product
- Net-IDN-Encode
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 22, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <2.590
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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