CVE-2026-110675: Cpanel::JSON::XS versions from 4.33 before 4.80 for Perl accept malformed UTF-8 in bare hash keys under allow_barekey in decode_hv

Severity: high (CVSS 8.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-10-19 · updated 2026-10-29
Weakness: CWE-1286

Description

Cpanel::JSON::XS versions from 4.33 before 4.80 for Perl accept malformed UTF-8 in bare hash keys under allow_barekey in decode_hv. With utf8 and allow_barekey, which relaxed enables, a quoted key is validated as UTF-8 but a bare key's bytes are stored as a UTF-8 flagged string without any check. Malformed UTF-8, control bytes and backslashes reach the decoded hash, while malformed UTF-8 and control bytes in a quoted key or a value are rejected. Later operations on the key, including lc, uc or encoding the hash again, die with a malformed UTF-8 error.

Affected products

Cpanel-JSON-XS: from 4.33 before 4.80 — fixed in 4.80

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Cpanel-JSON-XS 4.80. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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