CVE-2026-8796

HIGHCVSS 8.1/10EPSS 0.40%

Last modified

CVE-2026-8796 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.1/10 on the CVSS scale. 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. EPSS estimates a 0.40% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

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).

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
8.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.40%

31.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-8796?
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).
How severe is CVE-2026-8796?
CVE-2026-8796 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.40% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-8796?
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-2026-8796?

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Source: NVD / NIST