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CVE-2017-20285

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes

9.1 CriticalFix available

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.34%Up 0.2 points since Oct 5, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
CVE-2017-20285
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-502, CWE-470
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2017-19016 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
EUVD-2017-19016
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-c454-fc94-q86x 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of...

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
GHSA-c454-fc94-q86x
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-470
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
CVE-2017-20285
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-470, CWE-502
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes.

A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope.

What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
CVE-2017-20285
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-03
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2017-20285 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes. A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope. What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2017-20285
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 5 moreShow less
OSVRLSA-2026:93471 8.1

Important: perl-YAML:1.24 security update

he perl-YAML package provides the pure-Perl implementation of the YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) data serialization standard. It allows developers to serialize Perl data structures into formatted YAML text and deserialize YAML data back into native Perl structures, making it widely used for configuration files, data exchange, and human-readable data storage in Perl applications.

Security Fix(es):

  • perl-yaml: perl-yaml: Arbitrary code execution via unrestricted package variable assignment (CVE-2019-25777)

  • perl-yaml: perl-yaml: Arbitrary destructor method execution via crafted YAML document (CVE-2017-20285)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Record
RLSA-2026:93471
CVSS 3.1
8.1 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2017-20285 9.1

YAML versions before 1.30 for Perl allow a loaded document to trigger the DESTROY method of arbitrary classes. A perl/hash:Class tag blesses a hash into the class it names. The document supplies the object's fields, and Perl calls DESTROY when it goes out of scope. What DESTROY does depends on the classes the process has loaded. With File::Temp::Dir from core Perl, it can delete a directory tree the document names.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2017-20285
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALSA-2026:93471 No score

Important: perl-YAML:1.24 security update

he perl-YAML package provides the pure-Perl implementation of the YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) data serialization standard. It allows developers to serialize Perl data structures into formatted YAML text and deserialize YAML data back into native Perl structures, making it widely used for configuration files, data exchange, and human-readable data storage in Perl applications.

Security Fix(es):

  • perl-yaml: perl-yaml: Arbitrary code execution via unrestricted package variable assignment (CVE-2019-25777)
  • perl-yaml: perl-yaml: Arbitrary destructor method execution via crafted YAML document (CVE-2017-20285)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Record
ALSA-2026:93471
Updated
2026-11-03
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:12368-1 No score

perl-YAML-1.321.0-2.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the perl-YAML-1.321.0-2.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:12368-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-8925-1 No score

libyaml-perl vulnerabilities

Dominique Dumont discovered that YAML-LibYAML did not correctly handle certain reflection operations. If a user or system were tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could possibly use this issue to delete files. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. (CVE-2017-20285)

It was discovered that YAML-LibYAML did not correctly handle parsing certain documents. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. (CVE-2019-25777)

It was discovered that YAML-LibYAML contained a regular expression susceptible to catastrophic backtracking. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2026-63676)

Record
USN-8925-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
perl-YAML
AlmaLinux:8
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 1.24-4.module_el8.10.0+4341+ab0ec422
1.24-4.module_el8.10.0+4341+ab0ec422
libyaml-perl
Debian:12
before 1.30-1
1.30-1
libyaml-perl
Debian:13
before 1.30-1
1.30-1
libyaml-perl
Debian:14
before 1.30-1
1.30-1
perl-YAML
Rocky Linux:8
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+bd06a93a
0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+bd06a93a
perl-YAML
Rocky Linux:8
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+df14587c
0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+df14587c
perl-YAML
Rocky Linux:8
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+94558160
0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+94558160
perl-YAML
Rocky Linux:8
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+9457ea6c
0:1.24-4.module+el8.10.0+40403+9457ea6c
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
before 1.15-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.13-11.15-1
1.15-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
before 1.24-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.21-11.24-1
1.24-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
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Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.15-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.13-11.15-1
1.15-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.24-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.21-11.24-1
1.24-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.30-1ubuntu0.20.04.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.29-11.30-1
1.30-1ubuntu0.20.04.1~esm1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.30-1ubuntu0.22.04.1, plus listed versions
1.30-1
1.30-1ubuntu0.22.04.1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.31-1ubuntu0.24.04.1, plus listed versions
1.30-21.31-1
1.31-1ubuntu0.24.04.1
libyaml-perl
Ubuntu:Pro:26.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 1.31-1ubuntu0.26.04.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1.31-1
1.31-1ubuntu0.26.04.1~esm1
perl-YAML
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
before 1.321.0-2.1
1.321.0-2.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
affected, aliases, referencesOSV
affected, aliases, referencesOSV
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2017-20285 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.1) in perl-YAML, published October 5, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.34%, the 27th percentile. Fixed in libyaml-perl 1.30-1.

References

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