# CVE-2026-116531: HTTP::Body chunked request body parsing hang

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116531-http-body-versions-before-1-23-01-for-perl-lose-track-of-chunk  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-28. Updated: 2026-10-28  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-116531 · Severity: info · Published 2026-10-28

HTTP::Body is a Perl library that parses HTTP request bodies. A flaw in its handling of chunked encoding allows a remote attacker to craft requests that cause a web server to hang indefinitely or to misparse chunks as separate requests, potentially leading to request smuggling attacks.

Technologies: [Libwww-Perl HTTP::Body](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/libwww-perl-http-body). Vendors: [Libwww-Perl](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/libwww-perl).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-116531 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-116531 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-116531?** Informational severity, published 28 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Libwww-Perl HTTP::Body before 1.23_01.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-116531?** Yes: fixed in HTTP::Body 1.23_01. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-116531 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-116531?** Check whether you run Libwww-Perl HTTP::Body at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in HTTP::Body 1.23_01

## Technical details

HTTP::Body's add() method fails to properly track chunk boundaries when a read operation ends mid-chunk. The vulnerable code measured the entire chunk_buffer (including the chunk-size line) against the declared chunk length; when a read split a chunk, leftover bytes were incorrectly reparsed as the next chunk-size line, causing the body parser to never reach completion. Attack vectors include network-level delivery of split chunks; no authentication or user interaction required. An attacker gains ability to hang servers awaiting request body completion or to perform HTTP request smuggling.

## Affected products

- libwww-perl HTTP::Body before 1.23_01

## Timeline

- 2026-10-28: disclosed

## References

- [https://cpan.org/modules](https://cpan.org/modules)
- [https://github.com/libwww-perl/HTTP-Body/commit/5869dde9fe6d13f189a435b6583fd63fcc18677a.patch](https://github.com/libwww-perl/HTTP-Body/commit/5869dde9fe6d13f189a435b6583fd63fcc18677a.patch)

## Related threats

- [HTTP::Body percent-escape decoding bypass in urlencoded forms](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116135-http-body-versions-before-1-23-01-for-perl-drop-mixed-case)
- [HTTP::Body Perl multipart parser CPU exhaustion via quadratic rescanning](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116133-http-body-versions-before-1-23-01-for-perl-allow-cpu-exhaustion)
- [HTTP::Body temporary file disclosure in incomplete multipart uploads](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116132-http-body-versions-before-1-23-01-for-perl-leave-the-temporary)
- [HTTP::Body request body denial of service via field count exhaustion](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116131-http-body-versions-before-1-23-01-for-perl-allow-memory-and)