# CVE-2026-86145: Memory corruption in PCRE2

> An out-of-bounds write in PCRE2 allows attackers to execute code or cause denial of service via crafted regex patterns when specific heap limits are set.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-86145, AZL-99726, BELL-CVE-2026-86145, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-86145, ECHO-ce2f-65de-bd83, GHSA-3r4p-g7gg-ppmf, GHSA-hmq6-c24m-v98g, MGASA-2026-0431, OESA-2026-3814, OESA-2026-3815, OESA-2026-3816, OESA-2026-3817, OESA-2026-3883, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-86145

## What is CVE-2026-86145?

CVE-2026-86145 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in PCRE2, published on 5 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PCRE2 before 10.48 allows a pcre2_dfa_match out-of-bounds write because reuse of a cached workspace block, in a recursive DFA matching workspace, lacks a size check (even though a newly allocated block, for the same purpose, does have a size check). This outcome requires an attacker-controlled regular expression, or a recursive pattern in conjunction with a small heap limit (this can be set through the API).

Weakness: CWE-424 (Improper Protection of Alternate Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-86145?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-86145?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-86145 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-86145 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-86145 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-86145 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in PCRE2, published on 5 Sep 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-2026-86145 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: PCRE2. 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-2026-86145/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86145/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-86145
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86145
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-86145

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86145/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.