SafeApplication · Rafael Garcia Suarez

CVE-2010-1168

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-06-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Safe (aka Safe.pm) module before 2.25 for Perl allows context-dependent attackers to bypass intended (1) Safe::reval and (2) Safe::rdo access restrictions, and inject and execute arbitrary code, via vectors involving implicitly called methods and implicitly blessed objects, as demonstrated by the (a) DESTROY and (b) AUTOLOAD methods, related to "automagic methods."

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Safe.pm module before version 2.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where context-dependent attackers can bypass Safe::reval and Safe::rdo access restrictions. The attack exploits 'automagic methods' (DESTROY and AUTOLOAD) that are implicitly called on objects, allowing arbitrary code execution within the sandboxed compartment.

MitigationUpgrade Safe.pm to version 2.25 or later to patch the automagic method bypass vulnerability. Alternatively, audit code to ensure no untrusted input reaches Safe::reval or Safe::rdo functions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SafeApplication
Affected:= 2.08= 2.09= 2.11= 2.13= 2.14= 2.15= 2.16= 2.17= 2.18= 2.19= 2.20= 2.21

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Safe.pm version
    Run 'perl -MSafe -e "print $Safe::VERSION"' or check the Safe.pm file directly with 'perl -MSafe -e 'print $INC{"Safe.pm"}''. Compare the version number to the affected list: 2.08, 2.09, 2.11, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19, 2.20, 2.21.
    Affected if The installed version is one of the versions listed in the affected products list.
  2. Locate code using Safe::reval
    Search Perl source files for calls to Safe::reval or $compartment->reval using grep or a code search tool.
    Affected if Safe::reval is used in the codebase.
  3. Locate code using Safe::rdo
    Search Perl source files for calls to Safe::rdo or $compartment->rdo using grep or a code search tool.
    Affected if Safe::rdo is used in the codebase.
  4. Check for untrusted input reaching Safe functions
    Audit the code paths that feed data into Safe::reval or Safe::rdo calls. Determine if any input originates from external sources such as user input, network data, or file contents that are not under full developer control.
    Affected if Untrusted or user-controlled data can reach Safe::reval or Safe::rdo functions.

You are affected if your installed Safe.pm version is 2.08, 2.09, 2.11, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19, 2.20, or 2.21 AND your code uses Safe::reval or Safe::rdo with untrusted input that could trigger the automagic method bypass.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Safe.pm to version 2.25 or later to patch the automagic method bypass vulnerability. Alternatively, audit code to ensure no untrusted input reaches Safe::reval or Safe::rdo functions.

Fix this in Safe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-1168 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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