Starman for Perl memory exhaustion via unbounded chunked request buffering
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-770.
Summary
Starman versions before 0.4019 for Perl are affected. The chunked body decoder keeps each chunk in memory until the whole chunk and its CRLF have arrived, and it sets no limit on the length of a chunk-size line. A client that declares a huge chunk size and streams data, or sends a chunk-size line that never ends, makes the buffer grow for as long as it keeps sending. A remote attacker can exhaust worker memory with a single connection (CWE-770).
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02
Description from the CNA
Starman versions before 0.4019 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded buffering of chunked request bodies. The chunked body decoder keeps each chunk in memory until the whole chunk and its CRLF have arrived, and sets no limit on the length of a chunk-size line. A client that declares a huge chunk size and streams data, or sends a chunk-size line that never ends, grows the buffer for as long as it keeps sending. A remote attacker can exhaust worker memory with a single connection.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Starman | before 0.4019 | 0.4019 | Patch available | CNA |
- Starman Vendor— Affected before 0.4019 Fixed in 0.4019 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade Starman to version 0.4019 or later.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02
- Fix · CNA Starman Fixed in 0.4019
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-25 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-115824
- 2026-10-27 Alias added: GHSA-frrh-cv34-87px
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-02 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
- 2026-11-02 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-04 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
Sources
- CVE-2026-115824 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-115824 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-frrh-cv34-87px · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-115824 · 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