CVE-2011-10043 -- CVSS 9.8 Vulnerability Briefing

CVE-2011-10043 | CVSS 9.8 (Critical) | Exploit: No known exploit

What Is It

CVE-2011-10043 is an arbitrary module loading vulnerability in Perl's Module::Load library, affecting all versions prior to 0.22, which allows attackers to load modules from paths outside the trusted @INC directory list.

Technical Detail

The flaw exists in the load() function of Module::Load, which fails to properly validate module name input before resolving and loading the specified module. An attacker who can control or influence the module name argument can pass a string beginning with "::" to specify an arbitrary filesystem path, bypassing the @INC path restriction that is intended to constrain where Perl loads modules from. If exploited in a context where untrusted input reaches the load() call, this could result in arbitrary code execution by loading a malicious module from an attacker-controlled location.

Exploitation Status

No known exploit code has been publicly identified for this vulnerability, and it is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Despite the critical CVSS score of 9.8, there is no confirmed or reported exploitation activity in the wild as of this writing.

Who Is Targeting This

No specific threat actor attribution at this time. Neither confirmed nor reported threat actor activity has been associated with this vulnerability.

What To Do

Upgrade Module::Load to version 0.22 or later immediately. This is the only confirmed remediation. Administrators should audit any Perl applications that pass user-controlled or externally influenced input to the Module::Load load() function, as these represent the highest-risk code paths. Where upgrading is not immediately possible, implement input validation to reject module name strings beginning with "::" at the application layer. Detection can be approached by monitoring for unexpected Perl module load activity or file access outside standard library paths in application logs or host-based telemetry. Given the age of this vulnerability and the availability of a patched version, there is no justification for running affected versions in production environments.