CVE-2015-8389

Name: CVE-2015-8389
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2015-12-02T01:59:13.417+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

CRITICALCVSS 9.8/10EPSS 3.89%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2015-8389 is a critical-severity vulnerability rated 9.8/10 on the CVSS scale. PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the /(?:|a|){100}x/ pattern and related patterns, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted regular expression, as demonstrated by a JavaScript RegExp object encountered by Konqueror.. EPSS estimates a 3.89% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the /(?:|a|){100}x/ pattern and related patterns, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted regular expression, as demonstrated by a JavaScript RegExp object encountered by Konqueror.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

9.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

3.89%

88.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Pcre	Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library	<= 8.37
Fedoraproject	Fedora	22
Php	Php	>= 5.5.0, < 5.5.32
Php	Php	>= 5.6.0, < 5.6.18
Php	Php	>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.3

References

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-January/174931.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://vcs.pcre.org/pcre/code/trunk/ChangeLog?view=markupRelease Notes, Vendor Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/11/29/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/82990Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://bto.bluecoat.com/security-advisory/sa128Permissions Required, Third Party Advisory
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05240731Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201607-02Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230216-0002/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-January/174931.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://vcs.pcre.org/pcre/code/trunk/ChangeLog?view=markupRelease Notes, Vendor Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/11/29/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/82990Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://bto.bluecoat.com/security-advisory/sa128Permissions Required, Third Party Advisory
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05240731Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201607-02Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230216-0002/

Timeline

Published: Dec 2, 2015
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-8389?

How severe is CVE-2015-8389?

CVE-2015-8389 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10 (CRITICAL severity). The EPSS model estimates a 3.89% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2015-8389?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2015-8389?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST