CVE-2015-8389
CVE-2015-8389 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Pcre Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
- CVSS v2: 7.5
- EPSS exploit prediction: 4% (89th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-119
- Affected product: Pcre Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
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.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2015-8389?
- 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.
- How severe is CVE-2015-8389?
- CVE-2015-8389 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
- Is CVE-2015-8389 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (89th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2015-8389?
- CVE-2015-8389 primarily affects Pcre Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2015-8389?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2015-8389 published?
- CVE-2015-8389 was published on 2015-12-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-January/174931.html
- http://vcs.pcre.org/pcre/code/trunk/ChangeLog?view=markup
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/11/29/1
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/82990
- https://bto.bluecoat.com/security-advisory/sa128
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05240731
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201607-02
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230216-0002/
Affected products (3)
- cpe:2.3:a:pcre:perl_compatible_regular_expression_library:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Pcre Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library
- CVE-2015-8394 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the (?(<digits>) and (?(R<digits>) conditions, which allows remote attackers to cause a…
- CVE-2015-8390 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the [: and \\ substrings in character classes, which allows remote attackers to cause a…
- CVE-2015-8386 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the interaction of lookbehind assertions and mutually recursive subpatterns, which allows…
- CVE-2015-8383 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): PCRE before 8.38 mishandles certain repeated conditional groups, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of…
- CVE-2015-8395 — High (CVSS 7.5): PCRE before 8.38 mishandles certain references, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly…
- CVE-2015-8393 — High (CVSS 7.5): pcregrep in PCRE before 8.38 mishandles the -q option for binary files, which might allow remote attackers to obtain…
All CVEs affecting Pcre Perl Compatible Regular Expression Library →
Other CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) vulnerabilities
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- CVE-2026-2776 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to incorrect boundary conditions in the Telemetry component in External Software. This vulnerability…
- CVE-2025-1866 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in warmcat libwebsockets allows…
- CVE-2022-27625 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
- CVE-2022-27624 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
- CVE-2020-11896 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Treck TCP/IP stack before 6.0.1.66 allows Remote Code Execution, related to IPv4 tunneling.
Threat intelligence
Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:
- 183.182.99.92 (ipv4-addr)
- 103.153.190.105 (ipv4-addr)
- 188.44.20.32 (ipv4-addr)
- 198.199.94.79 (ipv4-addr)
- 122.3.106.113 (ipv4-addr)