YAML::Syck: Use After Free
CVE-2026-57076 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in YAML::Syck from TODDR, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 1.47 as the first without the flaw, so updating YAML::Syck to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.17% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update YAML::Syck to 1.47 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| TODDR | YAML::Syck | before 1.47 | 1.47 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- 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:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
YAML::Syck versions before 1.47 for Perl allow a heap use-after-free via an anchor name reused as an anchors-table key in syck_hdlr_add_anchor. In the bundled libsyck an anchor name allocated by syck_strndup is stored both as node->anchor, freed when the node is freed, and as the key in the parser's anchors table. Freeing the node frees the shared key, and a later anchor redefinition makes st_delete compare against the freed key, so st_strcmp reads freed heap memory. Anchors are a standard YAML feature and need no special flags, so this is reached on the default Load path. Any caller that runs Load or LoadFile on an untrusted document that redefines an anchor reaches the read of freed memory.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in YAML::Syck
- 7.7 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 9.6 Critical severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.