libmime-tools-perl: MIME::Words versions before 5.521 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via repeated "=?" sequences in decode_mimewords
CVE-2026-116270 is fixed in 2 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116270, released November 3, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.
MIME::Words versions before 5.521 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via repeated "=?" sequences in decode_mimewords. For each "=?" that does not start a complete encoded word, decode_mimewords appends an error message containing the whole input string to $@. A boundary of 8,000 "=?" pairs (16,000 bytes) adds 8,000 copies of itself to $@, about 128 MB. From version 5.518, MIME::Parser decodes every multipart boundary this way, so a remote sender can exhaust the memory of the parsing process with one Content-Type header.
Where it's fixed
| Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | |||
| libmime-tools-perl · Debian 14 | 5.522-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-116270 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| perl-MIME-tools · Fedora 43 | 5.522-1.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-A415B3BF48 | Nov 7, 2026 |
| perl-MIME-tools · opensuse-leap 16.0 | 5.522.0-bp160.1.1 | OPENSUSE-SU-2026:22226-1 | Nov 7, 2026 |
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