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MIME-tools for Perl misses ambiguous RFC 2231 multipart boundaries

Priority LOW 29CWE-436Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · Low · None
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

MIME-tools versions before 5.521 for Perl do not flag an ambiguous multipart boundary written as RFC 2231 continuations. The boundary checks skip boundaries split into RFC 2231 sections, so a repeated section number is joined rather than reported. A remote sender can make MIME::Parser split a message on a different boundary than other mail readers, hiding an attachment from a filter that relies on ambiguous_content() while the recipient's mail client shows it.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-05

Description from the CNA

MIME::Field::ParamVal versions before 5.521 for Perl do not flag an ambiguous multipart boundary written as RFC 2231 continuations. The boundary ambiguity checks look only at a plain boundary= parameter, and a boundary split into RFC 2231 sections (boundary*0=, boundary*1= and so on) is joined after they have run. A repeated section number is concatenated rather than reported as a duplicate. From version 5.518, an encoded word or trailing whitespace in such a boundary also goes unflagged, although multipart_boundary() decodes or strips it. A remote sender can make MIME::Parser split a message on a different boundary than other mail readers, hiding an attachment from a filter that relies on ambiguous_content() while the recipient's mail client shows it.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00206 10th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial MIME-tools: 5.521Red Hat: 1 without a fix

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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
—MIME-toolsbefore 5.5215.521Patch availableCNA
  • MIME-tools Vendor— Affected before 5.521 Fixed in 5.521 Patch available CNA

Remediation

Upgrade MIME-tools to version 5.521, which fixes the flaw. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is affected and has no fix planned.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-05

  • Fix · CNA MIME-tools Fixed in 5.521

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-28 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-116265
  2. 2026-10-28 Alias added: GHSA-7m3r-rg8x-jrmh
  3. 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-30 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  5. 2026-11-05 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
  6. 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed

References

Sources