CVE-2026-116270
MIME::Words versions before 5.521 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via repeated "=?" sequences in decode_mimewords
- State
- Published
- Severity
- Not scored
- Published
- Oct 28, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 28, 2026
- Reserved
- Oct 25, 2026
Description
MIME::Words versions before 5.521 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via repeated "=?" sequences in decode_mimewords.
For each "=?" that does not start a complete encoded word, decode_mimewords appends an error message containing the whole input string to $@. A boundary of 8,000 "=?" pairs (16,000 bytes) adds 8,000 copies of itself to $@, about 128 MB.
From version 5.518, MIME::Parser decodes every multipart boundary this way, so a remote sender can exhaust the memory of the parsing process with one Content-Type header.
Scores
The record has no CVSS score.
Weaknesses
- CWE-407 Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
MIME-tools |
|
References
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