CVE-2026-120650: CGI versions before 5.00 for Perl allow memory, CPU and disk exhaustion via missing or unenforced
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited : upgrade to 5.00 soon.
Data as of 4 Nov 2026, 01:58 UTC
Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
Thin evidence
One scorer or none- Patch
- Available – fixed in 5.00
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 3 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade CGI (Perl module) to 5.00.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| CGI | Affected
| Fixed in
|
CPANCGIpkg:cpan/CGIOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
If you cannot patch yet, administrators should consider implementing external request size limits at the web server or proxy level to mitigate potential resource exhaustion.
Description
CGI versions before 5.00 for Perl have a vulnerability that allows memory, CPU, and disk exhaustion due to missing or unenforced limits on request size, parameters, and uploads. The default setting for $CGI::POST_MAX imposes no limit, and even when set, it is not enforced for certain multipart request bodies. This can lead to resource exhaustion as request bodies are read fully into memory without restrictions.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120650 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/leejo/CGI.pm/commit/17b838dc14d2b82ae6c7e76f66ec2c3f3b08038b.patch (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/leejo/CGI.pm/commit/277baeb74fde7bce975a7bd0a1f98dcf1b9b2050.patch (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/leejo/CGI.pm/commit/8940a74e53a41563f72813b45f99cceaaa4c92e8.patch (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/leejo/CGI.pm/commit/f3febefe63fe3881d8c3ae10fa83ca8ec950b959.patch (opens in a new tab)
- metacpan.org/release/LEEJO/CGI-4.72/source/lib/CGI.pm (opens in a new tab)
- metacpan.org/release/LEEJO/CGI-5.00/changes (opens in a new tab)