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Ubuntu 26.04 LTS / 26.10 : Perl XS::Parse::Keyword module vulnerability (USN-8940-1)

🗓️ 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00Reported by TenableType 
nessus
 nessus
🔗 www.tenable.com👁 1 Views

Denial of service in Perl XS::Parse::Keyword module via specially crafted input.

Related
Refs
Code
#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 80900
##
# (C) Tenable, Inc.
#
# The descriptive text and package checks in this plugin were
# extracted from Ubuntu Security Notice USN-8940-1. The text
# itself is copyright (C) Canonical, Inc. See
# <https://ubuntu.com/security/notices>. Ubuntu(R) is a registered
# trademark of Canonical, Inc.
##

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(369328);
  script_version("1.2");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2026/10/21");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2026-85644");
  script_xref(name:"USN", value:"8940-1");

  script_name(english:"Ubuntu 26.04 LTS / 26.10 : Perl XS::Parse::Keyword module vulnerability (USN-8940-1)");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The remote Ubuntu host is missing a security update.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The remote Ubuntu 26.04 LTS / 26.10 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in
the USN-8940-1 advisory.

    It was discovered that the Perl XS::Parse::Keyword module did not correctly handle certain inputs. If a
    user or automated system were tricked into receiving specially crafted input, an attacker could cause a
    denial of service.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version
number.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8940-1");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Update the affected libxs-parse-keyword-perl package.");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:OF/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2026-85644");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2026/10/20");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"patch_publication_date", value:"2026/10/20");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2026/10/21");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"local");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:26.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:26.10");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:libxs-parse-keyword-perl");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"generated_plugin", value:"current");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Ubuntu Local Security Checks");

  script_copyright(english:"Ubuntu Security Notice (C) 2026 Canonical, Inc. / NASL script (C) 2026 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("ssh_get_info2.nasl");
  script_require_keys("Host/cpu", "Host/Ubuntu", "Host/Ubuntu/release", "Host/Debian/dpkg-l");

  exit(0);
}

include('debian_package.inc');

if ( ! get_kb_item('Host/local_checks_enabled') ) audit(AUDIT_LOCAL_CHECKS_NOT_ENABLED);
var os_release = get_kb_item('Host/Ubuntu/release');
if ( isnull(os_release) ) audit(AUDIT_OS_NOT, 'Ubuntu');
os_release = chomp(os_release);
if (! ('26.04' >< os_release || '26.10' >< os_release)) audit(AUDIT_OS_NOT, 'Ubuntu 26.04 / 26.10', 'Ubuntu ' + os_release);
if ( ! get_kb_item('Host/Debian/dpkg-l') ) audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_LIST_MISSING);

var cpu = get_kb_item('Host/cpu');
if (isnull(cpu)) audit(AUDIT_UNKNOWN_ARCH);
if ('x86_64' >!< cpu && cpu !~ "^i[3-6]86$" && 's390' >!< cpu && 'aarch64' >!< cpu) audit(AUDIT_LOCAL_CHECKS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED, 'Ubuntu', cpu);

var pkgs = [
    {'osver': '26.04', 'pkgname': 'libxs-parse-keyword-perl', 'pkgver': '0.49-1ubuntu0.1'},
    {'osver': '26.10', 'pkgname': 'libxs-parse-keyword-perl', 'pkgver': '0.49-1ubuntu1'}
];

var flag = 0;
foreach var package_array ( pkgs ) {
  var osver = NULL;
  var pkgname = NULL;
  var pkgver = NULL;
  if (!empty_or_null(package_array['osver'])) osver = package_array['osver'];
  if (!empty_or_null(package_array['pkgname'])) pkgname = package_array['pkgname'];
  if (!empty_or_null(package_array['pkgver'])) pkgver = package_array['pkgver'];
  if (!empty_or_null(package_array['cves'])) cves = package_array['cves'];
  if (osver && pkgname && pkgver) {
    if (deb_check(release:osver, prefix:pkgname, reference:pkgver, cves:cves)) flag++;
  }
}

if (flag)
{
  var extra = '';
  extra += ubuntu_report_get();
  security_report_v4(
    port       : 0,
    severity   : SECURITY_HOLE,
    extra      : extra
  );
  exit(0);
}
else
{
  var tested = ubuntu_pkg_tests_get();
  if (tested) audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_NOT_AFFECTED, tested);
  else audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_NOT_INSTALLED, 'libxs-parse-keyword-perl');
}

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21 Oct 2026 00:00Current
5.9Medium risk
Vulners AI Score5.9
CVSS 3.17.5
EPSS0.00393
SSVC
1