# CVE-2026-116128: Starlet versions from 0.20 before 0.33 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded buffering when decoding chunked request bodies

Status: published. Published: 2026-10-30. Updated: 2026-11-06.

Starlet versions from 0.20 before 0.33 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded buffering when decoding chunked request bodies.

The decoder adds each read to one buffer of unconsumed input. Nothing limits the length of a chunk-size line, so a line without a CRLF grows the buffer for as long as the client keeps sending, and the read timeout restarts after every read. The data of a large chunk is also held in the buffer until the whole chunk has arrived.

A remote attacker can exhaust a worker's memory with a single request.

## Remediation

- fix: Upgrade to Starlet 0.33 or later. (source: CNA: CPANSec)
- fix: The reporting source identifies this reference as a patch. Check the advisory for affected versions and supported release branches. (source: CNA: CPANSec) — https://github.com/kazuho/Starlet/commit/f3472712fff64329a43d86368768d80b61714106.patch

## Affected products and versions

-  /  (Starlet): ≥ 0.20; < 0.33 (affected, custom). Source: CNA: CPANSec

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 7.5 (high); CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H; source: ADP: CISA-ADP

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.24% as of 2026-11-06; percentile 15.10%

- SSVC: exploitation none; automatable yes; technical impact partial; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: CWE-770

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://github.com/kazuho/Starlet/commit/f3472712fff64329a43d86368768d80b61714106.patch (CNA: CPANSec; patch)

- https://metacpan.org/release/KAZUHO/Starlet-0.33/changes (CNA: CPANSec; release-notes)

## Provenance

- CNA: CPANSec: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-116128; retrieved 2026-11-06; source updated 2026-11-06

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-116128; retrieved 2026-11-06; source updated Not reported

Revision: 6ea2fc21bae07c0a23be2ea8e1cd9872917b298dffcef7c0f5947251e9fcd711

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-116128

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