Vulnerability · Published Jun 4, 2026 · Assigned by CPANSec

CVE-2026-8829HTML::Entities versions before 3.84 for Perl read freed heap memory in _decode_entities

High 7.5

In plain English

A high-severity use-after-free in HTML::Entities from OALDERS. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.4% (higher than 35% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.5High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.4%top 64.7% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

HTML::Entities versions before 3.84 for Perl read freed heap memory in _decode_entities. The XS routine backing HTML::Entities::_decode_entities cached a pointer (repl) into the entity-value SV returned by hv_fetch on the entity2char hash. When the input SV was identical to a value SV in that hash, and that value contained its own key as an entity reference, a later call to grow_gap() reallocated the SV's PV buffer and freed the backing allocation that repl still pointed into. The subsequent copy loop read repl_len bytes from the freed allocation. The read may disclose adjacent heap contents into the destination SV.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12libhtml-parser-perl3.81-1+deb12u1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-8829
Debian:13libhtml-parser-perl3.83-2~deb13u1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-8829
Debian:14libhtml-parser-perl3.83-2DEBIAN-CVE-2026-8829
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.76-1ubuntu0.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-8829
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.76-1ubuntu0.1USN-8587-1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.81-1ubuntu0.1USN-8587-1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.81-1ubuntu0.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-8829
Ubuntu:25.10libhtml-parser-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-8829
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.83-1ubuntu0.1USN-8587-1
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlibhtml-parser-perl3.83-1ubuntu0.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-8829

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
OALDERS HTML::Entities 0 – before 3.84

Weakness: CWE-416 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

References