How severe is CVE-2005-4872?

CVE-2005-4872 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2005-4872 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2005-4872?

CVE-2005-4872 affects Pcre. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2005-4872?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2005-4872 published?

CVE-2005-4872 was published on 2005-12-31 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

CVE-2005-4872

CVE-2005-4872 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Pcre with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.3)
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (81st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Pcre
Published: 2005-12-31
Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Perl-Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE) library before 6.2 does not properly count the number of named capturing subpatterns, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a regular expression with a large number of named subpatterns, which triggers a buffer overflow. NOTE: this issue was originally subsumed by CVE-2006-7224, but that CVE has been REJECTED and split.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2005-4872?: Perl-Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE) library before 6.2 does not properly count the number of named capturing subpatterns, which allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a regular expression with a large number of named subpatterns, which triggers a buffer overflow. NOTE: this issue was originally subsumed by CVE-2006-7224, but that CVE has been REJECTED and split.
How severe is CVE-2005-4872?: CVE-2005-4872 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2005-4872 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2005-4872?: CVE-2005-4872 affects Pcre. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2005-4872?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2005-4872 published?: CVE-2005-4872 was published on 2005-12-31 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:pcre:pcre:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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