# CVE-2011-2728: Null dereference in n/a

> A null pointer dereference in Perl's File::Glob module allows attackers to cause a denial of service via crafted glob expressions.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Not stated
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Dec 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2011-2728, GHSA-8m64-rq77-cfmc

## What is CVE-2011-2728?

CVE-2011-2728 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Dec 2012. 

### Official description

The bsd_glob function in the File::Glob module for Perl before 5.14.2 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a glob expression with the GLOB_ALTDIRFUNC flag, which triggers an uninitialized pointer dereference.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-2728?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Perl Perl.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-2728?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2011-2728 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-2728 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2026-4176](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4176/): Supply chain in perl (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-48522](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48522/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-12814](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12814/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-8608](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8608/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-13221](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13221/): Integer overflow in perl:perl (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-2728 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-2728 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Dec 2012. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-2728 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2728/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2728/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-2728
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-2728
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-2728

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2728/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.