# CVE-2026-4176: Supply chain in perl

> Perl includes a vulnerable vendored zlib in Compress::Raw::Zlib, allowing attackers to exploit underlying zlib flaws like code execution or DoS.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 29 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 30 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-4176, AZL-81309, AZL-81318, AZL-81321, AZL-81327, AZL-81339, AZL-81342, AZL-81351, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-4176, GHSA-q2q4-jjp8-f6m3, MINI-6wh3-hgvx-4vq2, MINI-f9vm-mg6q-rmx5, MINI-jhq7-wr7v-jx45, MINI-r5mq-vf37-j5p9, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-4176

## What is CVE-2026-4176?

CVE-2026-4176 is a critical vulnerability in SHAY perl, published on 29 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Perl versions from 5.9.4 before 5.40.4-RC1, from 5.41.0 before 5.42.2-RC1, from 5.43.0 before 5.43.9 contain a vulnerable version of Compress::Raw::Zlib.

Compress::Raw::Zlib is included in the Perl package as a dual-life core module, and is vulnerable to CVE-2026-3381 due to a vendored version of zlib which has several vulnerabilities, including CVE-2026-27171. The bundled Compress::Raw::Zlib was updated to version 2.221 in Perl blead commit c75ae9cc164205e1b6d6dbd57bd2c65c8593fe94.

Weakness: CWE-1395 (Dependency on Vulnerable Third-Party Component)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-4176?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Perl Perl.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-4176?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-4176 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-4176 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in SHAY perl

- [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)
- [CVE-2017-12883](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12883/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-4176 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-4176 is a critical vulnerability in SHAY perl, published on 29 Mar 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-2026-4176 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: SHAY perl. 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-2026-4176/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4176/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-4176
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-4176
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-4176

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4176/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.