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CVE-2015-8978

In Soap Lite (aka the SOAP::Lite extension for Perl) 1.14 and earlier, an example attack consists...

7.5 HighFix available

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

1.55%Up 0.7 points since Feb 4, 2022
90%50%10%1%

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 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0
5.0 MediumAV: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 HighCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libsoap-lite-perl
Debian:12
before 1.19-1
1.19-1
libsoap-lite-perl
Debian:13
before 1.19-1
1.19-1
libsoap-lite-perl
Debian:14
before 1.19-1
1.19-1
libsoap-lite-perl
Debian:7
before 0.714-1+deb7u1, plus listed versions
0.714-1
0.714-1+deb7u1
perl-SOAP-Lite
Mageia:5
before 1.110.0-4.1.mga5
1.110.0-4.1.mga5
perl-SOAP-Lite
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4
before 0.710.08-3.1
0.710.08-3.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE 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.

References

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