Buffer overflow in the polymorphic opcode support in the Regular Expression Engine (regcomp.c) in Perl 5.8 allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code by switching from byte to Unicode (UTF) characters in a regular expression.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2007-5116 is rated Moderate Risk (59.7/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 8.80%, 92th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-03-15 | 11.41% | 8.80% | -2.61% |
| 2 | 2025-03-30 | 17.95% | 11.41% | -6.54% |
| 3 | 2025-03-29 | — | 17.95% | — |
Full EPSS history (10 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
10.0 | 6.4 | [email protected] |
| vendor | priority | summary | link |
|---|---|---|---|
debian
|
medium | CVE-2007-5116 medium priority: Debian including 1 source packages (perl), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. | https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2007-5116 |
gentoo
|
normal | CVE-2007-5116: 2 GLSA(s) (200711-28, 201412-11), 2 atom(s) (app-emulation/emul-linux-x86-baselibs, dev-lang/perl); latest impact normal. | https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2007-5116 |
redhat
|
high | — | https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2007-5116 |
suse
|
high | CVE-2007-5116 severity important: SUSE including 37 source package names (perl-32bit-5.10.0-64.47.8, perl-32bit-5.10.0-64.55.1, …), 37 product×package rows across 9 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, … (9 product lines)): Fixed 37. | https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2007-5116/ |
ubuntu
|
medium | CVE-2007-5116 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (perl), 5 status rows across 5 suites (dapper, edgy, feisty, gutsy, upstream): released 5. | https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2007-5116 |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.0 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.1 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.3 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.1 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.2 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.2.3 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.3 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.4 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.4.5 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| larry_wall | perl | 5.8.6 | cpe:2.3:a:larry_wall:perl:5.8.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| mandrakesoft | mandrake_multi_network_firewall | 2.0 | cpe:2.3:a:mandrakesoft:mandrake_multi_network_firewall:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| openpkg | openpkg | current | cpe:2.3:a:openpkg:openpkg:current:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| redhat | enterprise_linux | 1.0 | cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:1.0:*:application_stack:*:*:*:*:* |