# CVE-2026-87079: libnet-idn-encode-perl: Net::IDN::Punycode versions before 2.590 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via quadratic insertion cost when decoding a l...

CVE-2026-87079 is fixed in 4 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-87079, released September 22, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-87079
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.5 (high)
- EPSS: 0.0038
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 22, 2026

## Description

Net::IDN::Punycode versions before 2.590 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via quadratic insertion cost when decoding a long label in decode_punycode.  The XS backend inserts each decoded code point into a UTF-8 buffer and finds the insertion point by scanning that buffer from the start, one character at a time. The scan runs once per code point over the output built so far, so the cost is quadratic in the label length. The pure-Perl backend downgrades its input to bytes so that substr can index it directly, but takes its working copy before the downgrade, so when the input carries the UTF-8 flag every substr on the copy scans from the start, with the same quadratic cost.  Nothing bounds the label length in the to-Unicode direction. The 63-byte DNS limit is checked only when converting to ASCII, so domain_to_unicode and uts46_to_unicode pass an attacker-supplied label of any length to the decoder.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | libnet-idn-encode-perl Debian 14 | 2.600-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-87079](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-87079.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | perl-Net-IDN-Encode amzn 2023 | 2.590-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-3190](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3190.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | perl-Net-IDN-Encode-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 2.590-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-3190](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3190.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | perl-Net-IDN-Encode-debugsource amzn 2023 | 2.590-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-3190](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3190.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T13:31:49Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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