How severe is CVE-2017-12883?

CVE-2017-12883 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, 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 none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-12883 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-12883?

CVE-2017-12883 primarily affects Perl. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-12883?

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-2017-12883 published?

CVE-2017-12883 was published on 2017-09-19 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-12883

CVE-2017-12883 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Perl with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1. 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 9.1)
CVSS v2: 6.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 6% (92nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Perl
Published: 2017-09-19
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Buffer overflow in the S_grok_bslash_N function in regcomp.c in Perl 5 before 5.24.3-RC1 and 5.26.x before 5.26.1-RC1 allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted regular expression with an invalid '\N{U+...}' escape.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-12883?: Buffer overflow in the S_grok_bslash_N function in regcomp.c in Perl 5 before 5.24.3-RC1 and 5.26.x before 5.26.1-RC1 allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted regular expression with an invalid '\N{U+...}' escape.
How severe is CVE-2017-12883?: CVE-2017-12883 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, 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 none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-12883 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-12883?: CVE-2017-12883 primarily affects Perl. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-12883?: 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-2017-12883 published?: CVE-2017-12883 was published on 2017-09-19 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.26.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

182.93.50.90 (ipv4-addr)
103.165.139.145 (ipv4-addr)
121.40.151.192 (ipv4-addr)
40.83.182.122 (ipv4-addr)