CVE-2026-5089

Description

YAML::Syck versions before 1.38 for Perl has an out-of-bounds read. The base60 (sexagesimal) parsing code in perl_syck.h has a buffer underflow bug in both int#base60 and float#base60 handlers. When processing the leftmost segment of a colon-separated value (e.g., the 1 in 1:30:45), the inner while loop can decrement a pointer past the start of the string buffer: while ( colon >= ptr && *colon != ':' ) { colon--; } if ( *colon == ':' ) *colon = '\0'; // colon may be ptr-1 here When no colon is found (final/leftmost segment), colon becomes ptr-1, and the subsequent *colon dereference reads one byte before the allocated buffer.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.3

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0005

Probability of exploitation

0.15%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-124 CWE-124

References

Other References

https://github.com/cpan-authors/YAML-Syck/commit/208a4d3bd1b5cdb4a791a6e3905bd6bd45e9d005.patch https://github.com/cpan-authors/YAML-Syck/issues/132 https://github.com/cpan-authors/YAML-Syck/pull/133 https://metacpan.org/release/TODDR/YAML-Syck-1.38/changes http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/12/16 https://github.com/cpan-authors/YAML-Syck/issues/132

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-5089? +

YAML::Syck versions before 1.38 for Perl has an out-of-bounds read. The base60 (sexagesimal) parsing code in perl_syck.h has a buffer underflow bug in both int#base60 and float#base60 handlers. When processing the leftmost segment of a colon-separated value (e.g., the 1 in 1:30:45), the inner while loop can decrement a pointer past the start of the string buffer: while ( colon >= ptr && *colon != ':' ) { colon--; } if ( *colon == ':' ) *colon = '\0'; // colon may be ptr-1 here When no colon is found (final/leftmost segment), colon becomes ptr-1, and the subsequent *colon dereference reads one byte before the allocated buffer. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-5089? +

CVE-2026-5089 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.3 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0005, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-5089? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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