CVE-2022-4993
CriticalCVSS 9.1Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk41th percentile - higher than 41% of all known CVEs
Summary
Vulnerability in HTML::FormHandler before version 0.410000 for Perl allows attacker-selected method dispatch and resource exhaustion. This occurs because _apply_actions and add_error use error message text built from request data as a Locale::Maketext bracket notation template, potentially leading to dangerous method calls or memory allocation.
Risk Assessment
Risk includes remote triggering of unhandled exceptions (application crash) or arbitrary memory allocation in a single request, potentially leading to denial of service. In some configurations, an attacker may call side-effecting methods on the language handle.
Recommendation
Immediately upgrade HTML::FormHandler to version 0.410000 or later. If upgrade is not possible, avoid applying type constraints and transforms to untrusted fields and do not pass field values to add_error.
Other vulnerabilities in HTML::FormHandler
See all- CVE-2026-85630Medium
HTML::FormHandler before version 0.410002 for Perl renders field attributes into HTML without escaping using the process_attrs method. Applications with fields or labels where attributes are built from data rather than literals may allow attacker-influenced text in attribute values, potentially overriding field attributes or embedding JavaScript in rendered pages.
- CVE-2026-85485Medium
HTML::FormHandler before version 0.410002 for Perl renders some error messages into HTML without escaping. The Table form layout and Bootstrap 2 and 3 wrappers splice each error string directly into the surrounding markup. Error messages containing attacker-influenced content such as rejected field values could embed JavaScript in rendered pages.
- CVE-2026-85484Medium
HTML::FormHandler before version 0.410002 for Perl renders option group labels and radio button labels into HTML without escaping. The Select, RadioGroup, CheckboxGroup and HorizCheckboxGroup widgets render a group label unescaped, and RadioGroup also renders each radio button's own label unescaped. Applications whose option list is built from data may allow attacker-influenced text in a label, potentially overriding options or embedding JavaScript.
- CVE-2026-19872Medium
HTML::FormHandler before version 0.410000 for Perl allows cross-site scripting via a submitted value rendered unescaped in an error message. The wrappers and renderers that emit a form's errors interpolate the error string straight into HTML with no escaping. The no_match and not_allowed messages splice the submitted value into that string, and a failing type constraint puts the rejected value into the message. A network request submitting markup to such a field can cause script execution in the victim's context.
Original NVD description (English source)
HTML::FormHandler versions before 0.410000 for Perl allow attacker selected method dispatch and resource exhaustion because _apply_actions and add_error use error message text built from request data as a Locale::Maketext bracket notation template. add_error hands its first argument to the language handle as the Locale::Maketext message key, and the default handle's lexicon sets `_AUTO`, so a string that is not a lexicon entry is compiled as a bracket notation template instead of being looked up. In a bracket group the first token names a method called on the language handle and the remaining tokens are its arguments. Three kinds of text the library did not author reach that position. _apply_actions installs a `$SIG{__WARN__}` handler that stores the warning text in `$error_message`, and a captured warning survives a successful action, so a field carrying a numeric transform turns `Argument "[sprintf,%50000000d,0]" isn't numeric` into the template; a warning quotes the submitted value verbatim, so the group is well formed and dispatches. `$error_message ||= $tobj->validate($new_value)` takes a type constraint's own failure message, which renders the rejected value through a partial dumper in bracket and comma form (Devel::PartialDump when Moose can load it, Type::Tiny's own dumper always), so a field with `apply => [ Str ]` given a parameter sent more than once, which arrives as an array, gets `Reference ["a","b"] did not pass type constraint "Str"` as its template, from a request that carries no bracket character of its own. A coercion or transform exception reaches it the same way. Beyond those, a validator whose message contains the field value puts that value in the template directly, and add_error replaces the message list with the contents of an arrayref first argument (`@message = @{$message[0]} if ref $message[0] eq 'ARRAY'`), so a value arriving as an array fills the argument slots from the same request as well. A malformed group such as `[0]` makes the compile croak, and HTML::FormHandler::I18N::maketext and add_error each re-raise that as a die, so process() throws. A well formed group naming sprintf reaches CORE::sprintf with an attacker chosen field width. Any caller that applies a type constraint or a transform to an untrusted field, or whose validator passes an untrusted field value to add_error, can be made to throw an unhandled exception out of process(), or to allocate an arbitrary amount of memory in one request, and an application whose language handle subclass defines side effecting public methods makes those callable with attacker chosen arguments. The dumped type constraint message is bounded to the exception, because both dumpers quote non-numeric elements so the method slot is never an attacker chosen name. The built-in messages pass fixed templates with the value in an argument slot, where it stays inert, and the built-in field types attach explicit message callbacks, so neither is affected.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

