CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-14380NVD status: Modified

Dbi: Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-14380 is a high-severity improper neutralization of directives in dynamically evaluated code vulnerability in Dbi from Perl, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 1.650 as the first without the flaw, so updating Dbi to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Dbi to 1.650 or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
PerlDbibefore 1.6501.650

Version data comes from NVD's product matching. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).

Official description

DBI versions before 1.650 for Perl are vulnerable to code injection via caller-influenced Profile. When a string is assigned to a DBI handle's Profile attribute, DBI splits it into path, package and arguments, and interpolates the package part in a string eval with no validation of the package name. Any caller-influenced value that reaches the Profile attribute is therefore arbitrary Perl code execution, including calls to run system commands. The Profile attribute can be set from three different sources that can carry untrusted data: the DBI_PROFILE environment variable, a direct attribute assignment, and a DSN driver-attribute clause dbi:Driver(Profile=>SPEC):db. An attacker controlling any of those inputs runs arbitrary Perl in the host process. The strongest remote position is a network-exposed DBI::Gofer / DBI::ProxyServer whose per-request DSN reaches the Profile attribute, letting a client execute code on the broker host.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code

The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes code syntax before using the input in a dynamic evaluation call (e.g. eval).

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • If possible, refactor your code so that it does not need to use eval() at all.
  • For Python programs, it is frequently encouraged to use the ast.literal_eval() function instead of eval, since it is intentionally designed to avoid executing code. However, an adversary could still cause excessive memory or stack consumption via deeply nested structures, so the python documentation discourages use of ast.literal_eval() on untrusted data.

More Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code vulnerabilities (CWE-95)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code vulnerabilities

Spotted an error? Tell us.