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Perl MIME-tools drops RFC 2231 filenames with hyphenated language tag

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 for Perl versions before 5.521 mishandles RFC 2231 filename parameters that carry a hyphenated language tag. The parser cannot strip the language suffix, so recommended_filename() returns an empty string instead of falling back to the name parameter (CWE-436). A remote sender without privileges or user interaction can get an attachment past a policy that checks file extensions on the recommended filename.

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 turn an RFC 2231 filename with a hyphenated language tag into an empty recommended filename. A parameter such as filename*=utf-8'en-US'payload.exe is converted to an encoded word with the language tag appended to the charset. The decoder strips the language suffix only when it is a single word, so it cannot resolve the charset UTF-8*EN-US and returns an empty string. The recommended_filename() method returns that empty string rather than falling back to the name parameter. Other mail readers return payload.exe. A remote sender can get an attachment past a policy that checks file extensions on the recommended filename.

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

Update MIME-tools to version 5.521. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is affected, and the sources list no fixed version for it.

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-2026-116269
  2. 2026-10-28 Alias added: GHSA-h2xx-9xmf-ppmv
  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