CVE-2026-73194
DBI versions before 1.652 for Perl allow a heap out-of-bounds write via an unvalidated numeric placeholder that sets the binder counter in preparse.
preparse reserves seven output bytes per input byte, the width of the longest ':p99999' expansion. The ':N' branch parses the number with atoi(src) and assigns it to the binder counter with no range check, so a statement containing ':2147483648' leaves the counter negative (-2147483648 with glibc, where atoi wraps). Each following '?' then expands through sprintf(start, ":p%d", idx++) to ':p-2147483648', 14 bytes with the terminating NUL where the buffer budgets 7. The placeholder limit added in 1.650 tests the counter against 99,999, which a negative counter passes.
Any caller that preparses an untrusted statement into ':pN' style placeholders gets a heap out-of-bounds write that grows with the number of '?' marks following the poisoned placeholder. The '?' and '%s' return styles compare the parsed number against the expected sequence and error out, and are unaffected.
CSIRTS triage
- What
- Heap out-of-bounds write via unvalidated numeric placeholder that sets the binder counter in preparse.
- Who is affected
- Perl applications using DBI versions before 1.652 are affected.
- Urgency
- Critical severity (CVSS 9.1) with memory corruption risk; immediate patching is essential.
- Action
- Update DBI to version 1.652 or later without delay.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Exploitation outlook
- Low exploitation risk0.49% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 40% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Advisory coverage (2)
External references
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