A vulnerability was found in Perl versions 5.30.0 through 5.38.0. This issue occurs when a crafted regular expression is compiled by Perl, which can allow an attacker controlled byte buffer overflow in a heap allocated buffer. The vulnerability is classified as high-severity with a CVSS score of 7.8, indicating significant risk to affected systems.
Risk to organizations includes potential unauthorized access to sensitive data and system instability, as the vulnerability can be exploited without user interaction. Given the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, organizations using affected versions of Perl should prioritize remediation.
Currently, there is no known public exploit for this vulnerability, but the nature of the issue demands immediate attention. Organizations should prioritize patching immediately to mitigate potential risks.
The last observed modification date of this vulnerability was in November 2025, indicating ongoing attention to this issue. Organizations are advised to stay updated on any new developments or patches related to this vulnerability.
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability allows for a controlled byte buffer overflow due to improper handling of crafted regular expressions in Perl. The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates a high severity, and the attack vector is local, requiring low privileges and no user interaction. The confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are classified as high.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability stems from the way Perl compiles regular expressions. An attacker can exploit this flaw by crafting a malicious regular expression leading to a buffer overflow in the heap. The attack complexity is high, and it requires low privileges to execute. While no user interaction is necessary, the attack vector is local, limiting its immediate impact.
The vulnerability has significant implications for confidentiality and integrity, as attackers may gain access to sensitive data or manipulate system behavior. The availability impact is also high, as successful exploitation can lead to system crashes or unresponsive states.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Organizations using vulnerable versions of Perl face real-world risks, including data breaches and downtime due to system instability. The blast radius for this vulnerability is significant, affecting any application relying on the flawed versions. Given the high CVSS score, organizations should address this vulnerability in their priority patch cycle.
The urgency for remediation is high, as attackers may leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access or disrupt services. Organizations should closely monitor for any signs of exploitation and prioritize updates.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The affected versions include Perl versions 5.30.0 through 5.38.0, as well as Fedora 39 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 8.0 and 9.0. Organizations using these versions should take immediate action to update or mitigate the vulnerability.
Mitigation & Remediation
Organizations should prioritize patching to the latest version of Perl as a critical first step in remediation. If a patch is not immediately available, consider implementing workarounds such as restricting access to vulnerable applications and reviewing regular expression usage in code.
For advanced security measures, organizations may also engage in penetration testing to assess their security posture against this and similar vulnerabilities.
Detection Guidance
Monitoring logs for anomalies related to regular expression processing within applications using Perl can provide early indicators of potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should look for unusual memory usage patterns that may signal a buffer overflow.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of CVE-2023-47038 lies in its demonstration of the risks associated with improper data handling within programming languages. As organizations increasingly rely on Perl for various applications, the potential for exploitation emphasizes the need for robust security practices.
Security teams should take this opportunity to review their coding practices, particularly around data validation and regular expression handling. To learn more about effective security strategies, refer to the following articles:
Understanding the importance of penetration testing methodology and implementing a vulnerability management program can significantly enhance an organization's ability to address vulnerabilities swiftly and effectively.
Incorporating secure coding practices and regular assessments will further strengthen defenses against future vulnerabilities.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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