---
id: "CVE-2026-116285"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-116285"]
title: "HTTP::Body for Perl: chunked request parsing lets remote clients exhaust CPU"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["http-body", "package", "perl", "self-hosted", "web-apps"]
not_affected_if: ["no-chunked-requests", "no-http-body"]
published_at: "2026-10-28T18:17:13+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-28T18:34:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-28T18:35:21+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116285", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-28T18:34:33+00:00"}]
---

# HTTP::Body for Perl: chunked request parsing lets remote clients exhaust CPU

HTTP::Body before 1.23_01 uses a regex to read chunk-size lines in chunked request bodies, and that regex backtracks quadratically on long lines of hex digits without a CR before the LF. A remote attacker can send such a request to make the application spend a lot of CPU, causing denial of service.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the installed HTTP::Body version with `perl -MHTTP::Body -e 'print $HTTP::Body::VERSION'` or `cpanm --info HTTP::Body`
- Look for HTTP::Body in the dependency tree with `cpan -l | grep HTTP::Body` or your lockfile
- Confirm whether the application parses chunked request bodies through HTTP::Body (for example, requests without a Content-Length)

## Fix

- Upgrade HTTP::Body to `1.23_01` or later
- Rebuild or redeploy applications that bundle HTTP::Body so the new version is used

## Timeline

- 2026-10-28T18:34:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116285

## From the sources

HTTP::Body versions before 1.23_01 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via quadratic regex backtracking when parsing chunked request bodies.

In chunked mode, used when no content length is given, add() matches each chunk-size line with `/^([\da-fA-F]+).*\x0D\x0A/`. On a line of hex digits whose first LF has no CR before it, the digits and `.*` backtrack against each other, so a single add() takes time quadratic in the line's length. Nothing limits how long the line can be.

A remote attacker can exhaust CPU in applications that pass chunked request bodies to HTTP::Body.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_