Vulnerability · Published Oct 30, 2026 · Assigned by CPANSec
CVE-2026-116128Starlet versions from 0.20 before 0.33 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded buffering when decoding chunked request bodies
Unrated
In plain English
A resource allocation without limits in Starlet. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 15% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
Starlet versions from 0.20 before 0.33 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded buffering when decoding chunked request bodies. The decoder adds each read to one buffer of unconsumed input. Nothing limits the length of a chunk-size line, so a line without a CRLF grows the buffer for as long as the client keeps sending, and the read timeout restarts after every read. The data of a large chunk is also held in the buffer until the whole chunk has arrived. A remote attacker can exhaust a worker's memory with a single request.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | starlet | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Debian:13 | starlet | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Debian:14 | starlet | 0.33-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | starlet | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | starlet | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | starlet | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-116128 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | starlet | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-116128 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Starlet | 0.20 – before 0.33 |
Weakness: CWE-770