Review reviewHigh

CVE-2026-48959

PMQS IO::Uncompress::Unzip

IO::Uncompress::Unzip versions before 2.220 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via per-byte read loop in fastForward. fastForward() compares length $offset (the digit count of the offset, 1 to 19) against the chunk size $c instead of $offset itself, so $c shrinks from 16 KiB to 1-19 bytes per iteration. Extracting a named entry from an attacker supplied zip via IO::Uncompress::Unzip->new($zip, Name => $target) drives a per-byte read loop scaling with the entry's compressed size, up to the non-Zip64 4 GiB cap.

CVSS
7.5
EPSS
0.37%
30.1% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2026.05.27
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.37%
Technical severityCVSS 7.5

Vulnerability overview

IO::Uncompress::Unzip versions before 2.220 for Perl allow CPU exhaustion via per-byte read loop in fastForward. fastForward() compares length $offset (the digit count of the offset, 1 to 19) against the chunk size $c instead of $offset itself, so $c shrinks from 16 KiB to 1-19 bytes per iteration. Extracting a named entry from an attacker supplied zip via IO::Uncompress::Unzip->new($zip, Name => $target) drives a per-byte read loop scaling with the entry's compressed size, up to the non-Zip64 4 GiB cap.

Affected product and versions

Product
PMQS IO::Uncompress::Unzip
Affected versions
< 2.220
Fixed versions
No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that PMQS IO::Uncompress::Unzip and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CWE
CWE-407