oss-securitypublished Sep 19, 16:14 UTC (9h ago)ingested Sep 19, 16:29 UTC

CVE-2026-78030: DBI versions before 1.653 for Perl load arbitrary modules via unvalidated dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes in DBD::DBM

mediumVulnerabilityimportance 52CVE-2026-78030

AI summary · glm-5.3-flash

Perl DBI before 1.653 loads arbitrary modules via unvalidated DBD::DBM dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes, enabling code execution with attacker-controlled attributes.

CVE-2026-78030 affects the Perl DBI database interface in all versions before 1.653. The DBD::DBM driver does not validate the dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes before using them to load Perl modules, so applications that pass attacker-controlled attributes to DBI connect can be made to load arbitrary modules, which can lead to code execution. Robert Rothenberg disclosed the flaw on the oss-security mailing list on September 19, 2026; users should upgrade to DBI 1.653.

DBD::DBM's dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes are not validated before module loading.
Affects DBI releases before 1.653; upgrading to 1.653 remediates the flaw.
Impact is limited to applications that pass attacker-controlled attributes to DBI connect.
Disclosure was made via the oss-security mailing list by maintainer Robert Rothenberg.

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VendorsPerl DBI

ProductsDBI DBD::DBM

Organizationsoss-security

Tagsperl dbi dbd-dbm cve-2026-78030 arbitrary-module-loading patch

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVE	Vulnerability	CVSS	EPSS	Flags	Affected	Exposure	Published
CVE-2026-78030	Arbitrary module load leading to code execution in Perl DBI (DBD::DBM) before 1.653 Perl DBI versions before 1.653, which bundle the DBD::DBM driver, pass the dbm_type and dbm_mldbm connect attributes to Perl's require without validating that they name a module, enabling arbitrary module loading (CWE-470). An attacker who can influence either attribute, for example through a DSN fragment or an application parameter that selects a storage backend, can supply a path-shaped value that require treats as a literal filename (bypassing @INC), and the MLDBM::Serializer:: prefix prepended to dbm_mldbm does not stop traversal because only '::' separators are rewritten to '/'. Successful abuse runs the file-scope code of whatever file the value names, giving the attacker code execution on the host, typically by pointing the attribute at an attacker-controlled or pre-staged file. Any deployment of affected DBI versions that lets untrusted input set these attributes is at risk, with DBD::Gofer (which forwards connect attributes to the server side) and DBI::ProxyServer (which only checks that the DSN starts with a driver prefix) as notable exposure paths. No public proof-of-concept or in-the-wild exploitation is currently known. Do: Upgrade to DBI 1.653 or later, which validates the dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes. Until then, never set these connect attributes from untrusted input, allowlist the permitted values server-side, and audit DBI::ProxyServer and DBD::Gofer deployments plus any code that builds a dbi:DBM DSN from user-controlled data.	—	—		Perl DBI project DBI (distribution includes the DBD::DBM driver) all versions before 1.653 Perl DBI project DBD::Gofer (attack surface: forwards client connect attributes to the server side) as shipped with DBI before 1.653 Perl DBI project DBI::ProxyServer (attack surface: validates only that a DSN starts with a driver prefix) as shipped with DBI before 1.653	nichehundreds to a few thousand exploitable deployments (rarely used DBD::DBM driver bundled with the ubiquitous DBI)	13h ago

CVE

Vulnerability

CVSS

EPSS

Flags

Affected

Exposure

Published

CVE-2026-78030

Arbitrary module load leading to code execution in Perl DBI (DBD::DBM) before 1.653

Perl DBI versions before 1.653, which bundle the DBD::DBM driver, pass the dbm_type and dbm_mldbm connect attributes to Perl's require without validating that they name a module, enabling arbitrary module loading (CWE-470). An attacker who can influence either attribute, for example through a DSN fragment or an application parameter that selects a storage backend, can supply a path-shaped value that require treats as a literal filename (bypassing @INC), and the MLDBM::Serializer:: prefix prepended to dbm_mldbm does not stop traversal because only '::' separators are rewritten to '/'. Successful abuse runs the file-scope code of whatever file the value names, giving the attacker code execution on the host, typically by pointing the attribute at an attacker-controlled or pre-staged file. Any deployment of affected DBI versions that lets untrusted input set these attributes is at risk, with DBD::Gofer (which forwards connect attributes to the server side) and DBI::ProxyServer (which only checks that the DSN starts with a driver prefix) as notable exposure paths. No public proof-of-concept or in-the-wild exploitation is currently known.

Do: Upgrade to DBI 1.653 or later, which validates the dbm_type and dbm_mldbm attributes. Until then, never set these connect attributes from untrusted input, allowlist the permitted values server-side, and audit DBI::ProxyServer and DBD::Gofer deployments plus any code that builds a dbi:DBM DSN from user-controlled data.

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Perl DBI project DBI (distribution includes the DBD::DBM driver) all versions before 1.653
Perl DBI project DBD::Gofer (attack surface: forwards client connect attributes to the server side) as shipped with DBI before 1.653
Perl DBI project DBI::ProxyServer (attack surface: validates only that a DSN starts with a driver prefix) as shipped with DBI before 1.653

nichehundreds to a few thousand exploitable deployments (rarely used DBD::DBM driver bundled with the ubiquitous DBI)

13h ago

Full article

Posted by Robert Rothenberg on Sep 19 ======================================================================== https://metacpan.org/dist/DBI https://github.com/perl5-dbi/dbi DBI...

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