High [CVE-2026-73193] Arbitrary Code Execution on 32-bit Perl via Integer Wraparound

DBI versions before 1.652 for Perl allow a heap out-of-bounds write on 32-bit perl via an integer wraparound in the output buffer size computed by preparse. preparse reserves its output buffer with `newSV(strlen(statement) * 7 + 16)`, budgeting seven output bytes per input byte for the longest ':p99999' expansion.

The product is computed in STRLEN, which is 32 bits wide on a 32-bit perl build, so a statement of 613,566,757 bytes multiplies to 4,294,967,299, wraps modulo 2^32 to 3, and reserves 19 bytes. The parser then copies the statement out through a raw pointer with no capacity check, writing the whole 585 MB input past the end of the allocation.

The 99,999 placeholder limit does not bound this path, which is reached by ordinary non-placeholder content. Any caller that passes an untrusted statement of that length to preparse on a 32-bit perl gets a heap out-of-bounds write of attacker controlled bytes.

Builds with a 64-bit STRLEN are not affected, since the wrap there needs a statement of about 2.3 exabytes. A flaw was found in DBI.

A remote attacker can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, excessively large statement. This can lead to a heap out-of-bounds write, potentially allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.

Red Hat severity: Important — CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Weakness: CWE-787.