# CVE-2026-89160: Memory corruption in PCRE2

> An out-of-bounds read in PCRE2 during invalid UTF matching can cause crashes or leak memory, affecting applications using the library.

- **Severity:** Low 3.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-89160, AZL-100056, AZL-101745, AZL-101763, AZL-101787, AZL-101799, AZL-101817, BELL-CVE-2026-89160, CLSA-2026-1789748039, CLSA-2026-1791400870, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89160, ECHO-0163-beea-7a1d, GHSA-9qww-pwc4-77qq, GHSA-cv45-8fc2-7w58, MINI-pgw7-83wv-8mxv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89160

## What is CVE-2026-89160?

CVE-2026-89160 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in PCRE2, published on 11 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 has a pcre2_match out-of-bounds read during the PCRE2_MATCH_INVALID_UTF matching of an invalid UTF subject.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89160?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pcre Pcre2.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-89160?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-89160 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-89160 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in PCRE2

- [CVE-2017-8786](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8786/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-8399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8399/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-41409](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-41409/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-89161](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89161/): Use after free in PCRE2 (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2025-58050](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-58050/): PCRE2: heap-buffer-overflow read in match_ref due to missing boundary restoration in SCS (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89160 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-89160 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in PCRE2, published on 11 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-89160 exists.

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-2026-89160/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89160/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89160
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89160
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89160

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89160/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.