# CVE-2026-14741: HTTP::Date versions before 6.08 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via polynomial regex backtracking in parse_date

> Attackers can cause CPU exhaustion and denial of service by sending crafted HTTP date headers to applications using the vulnerable Perl library.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 12 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-14741, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-14741, ECHO-2e88-4656-82f2, GHSA-mcqf-9rr5-v7rw, MGASA-2026-0362, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-14741, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-14741, SUSE-SU-2026:22859-1, SUSE-SU-2026:3334-1, SUSE-SU-2026:3454-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-14741, USN-8599-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:11350-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:21427-1

## What is CVE-2026-14741?

CVE-2026-14741 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in OALDERS HTTP::Date, published on 17 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

HTTP::Date versions before 6.08 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via polynomial regex backtracking in parse_date.

parse_date() matches the date string against a chain of alternative regexes, and str2time() delegates to it. Several of these patterns place unbounded quantifiers next to each other before a trailing `\s*$` anchor. A valid date prefix followed by a long interior run of digits, letters, or whitespace and a single trailing byte that defeats the final match forces the engine to repartition the run, giving polynomial (about quadratic) backtracking. A header value of a few tens of kilobytes runs for tens of seconds of CPU.

HTTP::Date parses timestamps such as HTTP `Date`, `Expires`, and `Last-Modified` headers, which commonly originate from untrusted sources. Any caller that passes an untrusted date header to str2time() or parse_date() can be driven to consume unbounded CPU, a denial of service.

Weakness: CWE-1333 (Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-14741?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | All versions | 6.02-150000.3.3.1 |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 6.06-160000.3.1 |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | All versions | 6.02-9.3.1 |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 6.06-160000.3.1 |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 6.06-160000.3.1 |
| `perl-HTTP-Date` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 6.80.0-1.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-14741?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-14741 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-14741 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-14741 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-14741 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in OALDERS HTTP::Date, published on 17 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-14741 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OALDERS HTTP::Date. 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-2026-14741/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14741/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-14741
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14741
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-14741

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14741/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.