CVE-2026-19953

What it is

URI versions before 5.36 for Perl encode non-NFC host names to non-standard punycode labels via missing normalization in nameprep. nameprep lowercases each host label but performs no Unicode normalization. IDNA requires a label to be normalized to Form C before it is encoded (RFC 5891), so a label that is not already in NFC is encoded to a different A-label than its normalized form. A label built from the precomposed Devanagari sequence U+0958 U+093E encodes to xn--72b5c without normalization but to xn--11b2fg after NFC normalization, and xn--72b5c does not round-trip back to the original label. Any caller that reads host() from a URI built from untrusted input and uses it for a security decision (an allow or deny list, an SSRF filter, deduplication, a cache key) sees the non-standard label, while a client that fetches the same URL resolves the NFC form, so the check and the fetch can disagree about the host.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-08-31 18:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-09-03 16:41 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2026-08-31 18:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-09-03 16:41 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-1289

Record status

Deferred

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.5

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None