CVE-2026-73194 DBI versions before 1.652 for Perl allow a heap out-of-bounds write via an unvalidated numeric placeholder that sets the binder counter in preparse.

Critical 9.1 Published 15 Aug 2026 Updated 17 Aug 2026

Heap out-of-bounds write in Perl DBI allows attackers to execute code or crash the application via crafted SQL placeholders.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2026-73194?

CVE-2026-73194 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in perl-DBI, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

DBI versions before 1.652 for Perl allow a heap out-of-bounds write via an unvalidated numeric placeholder that sets the binder counter in preparse.

preparse reserves seven output bytes per input byte, the width of the longest ':p99999' expansion. The ':N' branch parses the number with `atoi(src)` and assigns it to the binder counter with no range check, so a statement containing ':2147483648' leaves the counter negative (-2147483648 with glibc, where atoi wraps). Each following '?' then expands through `sprintf(start, ":p%d", idx++)` to ':p-2147483648', 14 bytes with the terminating NUL where the buffer budgets 7. The placeholder limit added in 1.650 tests the counter against 99,999, which a negative counter passes.

Any caller that preparses an untrusted statement into ':pN' style placeholders gets a heap out-of-bounds write that grows with the number of '?' marks following the poisoned placeholder. The '?' and '%s' return styles compare the parsed number against the expected sequence and error out, and are unaffected.

Weakness: CWE-787, CWE-1284

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-73194?

Linux distribution packages (23)

`perl-DBI` AlmaLinux:10	All versions	`1.643-26.el10_2.6`
`perl-DBI` AlmaLinux:8	All versions	`1.641-10.module_el8.10.0+4282+4ee1dbd0`
`perl-DBI` AlmaLinux:8	All versions	`1.641-3.el8_10`
`perl-DBI` AlmaLinux:9	All versions	`1.643-9.el9_8.6`
`perl-DBI` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:1.643-26.el10_2.6`
`perl-DBI-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:1.643-26.el10_2.6`
`perl-DBI-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:1.643-26.el10_2.6`
`perl-DBI` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+24875+bc962974`
`perl-DBI-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+24875+bc962974`
`perl-DBI-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+24875+bc962974`
`perl-DBI` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:1.641-3.el8_10`
`perl-DBI-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:1.641-3.el8_10`
`perl-DBI-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:1.641-3.el8_10`
`perl-DBI` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:1.643-9.el9_8.6`
`perl-DBI-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:1.643-9.el9_8.6`
`perl-DBI-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:1.643-9.el9_8.6`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:10	All versions	`0:1.643-26.el10_2.6`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+40328+0878361a`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+40328+3ea70367`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+40328+bc090241`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:1.641-10.module+el8.10.0+40328+f4c7f87b`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:1.641-3.el8_10`
`perl-DBI` Rocky Linux:9	All versions	`0:1.643-9.el9_8.6`

How do I fix CVE-2026-73194?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2026-73194 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-73194 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as ALSA-2026:69112, ALSA-2026:70753, ALSA-2026:71422, ALSA-2026:71608, AZL-96704, BELL-CVE-2026-73194 and 17 more.