CVE-2015-8978
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists...
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.5
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
CVE-2015-8978- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-399
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
CVE-2015-8978- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2015-8832 No score
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
EUVD-2015-8832- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9xh5-ghq7-m3c5
7.5
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists...
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
GHSA-9xh5-ghq7-m3c5- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
CVE-2015-8978- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2015-8978
7.5
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2015-8978- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2015-8978
7.5
In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists of defining 10 or more XML entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity. The amount of computer memory used for handling an external SOAP call would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2015-8978- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2017-0252 No score
Updated perl-SOAP-Lite packages fix security vulnerability
It was discovered that there was a "Billion Laughs" [0] XML expansion vulnerability in SOAP::Lite (CVE-2015-8978).
- Record
MGASA-2017-0252- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:3052-1 No score
Security update for perl-SOAP-Lite
This update for perl-SOAP-Lite fixes the following issue:
Security issue fixed:
- CVE-2015-8978: XML exponential entity expansion denial-of-service (bsc#1011836)
- Record
SUSE-SU-2016:3052-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
libsoap-lite-perlDebian:12 |
before 1.19-1 | 1.19-1 |
libsoap-lite-perlDebian:13 |
before 1.19-1 | 1.19-1 |
libsoap-lite-perlDebian:14 |
before 1.19-1 | 1.19-1 |
libsoap-lite-perlDebian:7 |
before 0.714-1+deb7u1, plus listed versions 0.714-1 |
0.714-1+deb7u1 |
perl-SOAP-LiteMageia:5 |
before 1.110.0-4.1.mga5 | 1.110.0-4.1.mga5 |
perl-SOAP-LiteSUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 |
before 0.710.08-3.1 | 0.710.08-3.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2015-8978 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Soap\ \, published November 22, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.55%, the 75th percentile. Fixed in libsoap-lite-perl 1.19-1.