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Harfbuzz\Application · Jv

CVE-2026-0943

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.032 or later.
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
HarfBuzz::Shaper versions before 0.032 for Perl contains a bundled library with a null pointer dereference vulnerability.  Versions before 0.032 contain HarfBuzz 8.4.0 or earlier bundled as hb_src.tar.gz in the source tarball, which is affected by CVE-2026-22693.

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The HarfBuzz::Shaper Perl module before version 0.032 bundles an outdated version of the HarfBuzz text shaping library (8.4.0 or earlier) containing CVE-2026-22693, which is a null pointer dereference vulnerability that could be exploited to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code via crafted font files.

MitigationUpgrade HarfBuzz::Shaper to version 0.032 or later which bundles an updated, patched version of the HarfBuzz library.

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
Harfbuzz\Application
Affected:< 0.032

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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. Check if HarfBuzz::Shaper Perl module is installed
    Run `perl -MHarfBuzz::Shaper -e 'print $HarfBuzz::Shaper::VERSION . "\n"'` or `perldoc HarfBuzz::Shaper | grep VERSION`
    Affected if The command fails (module not installed) or returns a version lower than 0.032
  2. Verify the installed HarfBuzz::Shaper version
    Compare the version number from step 1 against the affected range: versions less than 0.032 are vulnerable
    Affected if Installed version is less than 0.032
  3. Identify the bundled HarfBuzz library version
    Examine the module distribution files or bundled library - typically found in the module's lib or share directory, or check HarfBuzz::Shaper's documentation for the bundled HarfBuzz version
    Affected if Bundled HarfBuzz library version is 8.4.0 or earlier
  4. Determine if your application uses HarfBuzz::Shaper to process font files
    Review your Perl code for `use HarfBuzz::Shaper` or `require HarfBuzz::Shaper` statements, and check if font file processing paths are reachable
    Affected if The module is loaded and used to shape text with font files - the null pointer dereference triggers when processing crafted font files

You are affected if HarfBuzz::Shaper version is below 0.032 AND your system uses this module to process font files, allowing crafted fonts to trigger the bundled HarfBuzz vulnerability.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.032 or later
Fixed in 0.032
Interim mitigation

Upgrade HarfBuzz::Shaper to version 0.032 or later which bundles an updated, patched version of the HarfBuzz library.

Recommended fix High confidence

Harfbuzz::Shaper version 0.032

  1. Ensure you have cpanm (App::cpanminus) installed: sudo cpan install App::cpanminus
  2. Upgrade the Harfbuzz::Shaper module to version 0.032 or later: cpanm Harfbuzz::Shaper
  3. If using a system package manager (e.g., apt, yum, dnf), update the perl-harfbuzz or libharfbuzz-perl package to version 0.032 or later
  4. Verify the installed version: perl -MHarfbuzz::Shaper -e 'print Harfbuzz::Shaper->VERSION'
  5. If your application has a cpanfile or cpanfile.snapshot, update the version constraint to 'Harfbuzz::Shaper >= 0.032' and run 'cpanm --installdeps .'
Caveat Minor version bump; unlikely to introduce breaking changes; this is primarily a security fix for a bundled library vulnerability

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Harfbuzz\ Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,190
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,904.

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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-2026-0943 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data