CPANSA-Net-IDN-Encode-2026-74766: Net-IDN-Encode vulnerability

Publisher giterlizzi Document category csaf_security_advisory
Initial release date 2026-09-22T00:00:00 Engine CSAF Perl Toolkit 0.26
Current release date 2026-09-22T00:00:00 Build Date
Current version 1 Status final
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.4 Severity High
Original language Language en
Also referred to

Vulnerability Description

Net::IDN::Punycode versions from 2.301 before 2.590 for Perl allow a heap use-after-free via a decoded code point that reallocates the output buffer in decode_punycode.

The XS backend inserts each decoded code point into the string buffer of the scalar it returns. decode_punycode computes the insertion pointer first and only then grows the buffer when the code point does not fit. The growth reallocates the buffer and updates every pointer except the insertion pointer, so the move that follows and the write of the code point go through a freed pointer. The buffer starts at twice the label length, and a code point above U+FFFF takes four bytes in the output, so a label of such code points outgrows it and forces the reallocation.

Version 2.301, the fix for CVE-2016-15059, introduced the defect. Only the XS backend is affected.

Decoding an attacker-supplied punycode label reads and writes freed heap memory.

Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-74766

Vulnerability Description

Net::IDN::Punycode versions from 2.301 before 2.590 for Perl allow a heap use-after-free via a decoded code point that reallocates the output buffer in decode_punycode.

The XS backend inserts each decoded code point into the string buffer of the scalar it returns. decode_punycode computes the insertion pointer first and only then grows the buffer when the code point does not fit. The growth reallocates the buffer and updates every pointer except the insertion pointer, so the move that follows and the write of the code point go through a freed pointer. The buffer starts at twice the label length, and a code point above U+FFFF takes four bytes in the output, so a label of such code points outgrows it and forces the reallocation.

Version 2.301, the fix for CVE-2016-15059, introduced the defect. Only the XS backend is affected.

Decoding an attacker-supplied punycode label reads and writes freed heap memory.

Weakness CWE-416 : Use After Free

Product status

Known affected
Product Score
Net-IDN-Encode greater than or equal 2.301 and less than 2.590
CVSS Version CVSS Vector CVSS Base Score CVSS Base Severity
3.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 8.4 High
Fixed

giterlizzi

Namespace: https://github.com/giterlizzi/

gdt@cpan.org

References

Revision history

Version Date of the revision Summary of the revision
1 Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 2026 First release

Sharing rules

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