PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the /(?:|a|){100}x/ pattern and related patterns, which…
Priority MEDIUM 49CWE-119Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-119 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the /(?:|a|){100}x/ pattern and related patterns, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted regular expression, as demonstrated by a JavaScript RegExp object encountered by Konqueror.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.03887 90th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:pcre:perl_compatible_regular_expression_library:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 8.37 | Vulnerable | PCRE |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:22:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 22 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.5.0 to before 5.5.32; 5.6.0 to before 5.6.18; 7.0.0 to before 7.0.3 | Vulnerable | PHP |
- cpe:2.3:a:pcre:perl_compatible_regular_expression_library:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 8.37 Vulnerable ·PCRE
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:22:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 22 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.5.0 to before 5.5.32; 5.6.0 to before 5.6.18; 7.0.0 to before 7.0.3 Vulnerable ·PHP
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 8 products
- Red Hat Directory Server 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 1
- Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2
- Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3
- Red Hat Software Collections
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2015-8389
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w4p3-383r-c3gc
- 2026-10-12 EPSS moved to the 90th–95th percentile
References
Advisory 6
Sources
- CVE-2015-8389 · CVE Program
- CVE-2015-8389 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w4p3-383r-c3gc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2015-8389 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences