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Vulnerability · Published Oct 28, 2026 · Assigned by CPANSec

CVE-2026-116273MIME::Parser versions before 5.521 for Perl set no limit on the number of message parts by default, allowing memory exhaustion

High 7.5

In plain English

A high-severity resource allocation without limits in MIME-tools. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 22% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.5High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 78.2% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

MIME::Parser versions before 5.521 for Perl set no limit on the number of message parts by default, allowing memory exhaustion. The max_parts option defaulted to -1, which disables the limit, so a parser created with default settings builds an entity for every part however many a message has. Version 5.521 sets max_parts to 1000 and max_depth to 64 by default. Setting either to -1 still removes the limit.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12libmime-tools-perlno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-116273
Debian:13libmime-tools-perlno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-116273
Debian:14libmime-tools-perl5.522-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116273
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlibmime-tools-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-116273
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlibmime-tools-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-116273
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlibmime-tools-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-116273
Ubuntu:26.10libmime-tools-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-116273

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
MIME-tools 0 – before 5.521

Weakness: CWE-1188, CWE-770 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References