HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2015-8391
CRITICAL

CVE-2015-8391

CWE-119Published: December 2, 2015· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

The pcre_compile function in pcre_compile.c in PCRE before 8.38 mishandles certain [: nesting, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted regular expression, as demonstrated by a JavaScript RegExp object encountered by Konqueror.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2015-8391 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-119): Buffer overflow vulnerabilities can lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service by corrupting adjacent memory.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
Oracle1 product(s)
linux
pcre1 product(s)
pcre
PHP1 product(s)
php
Red Hat6 product(s)
enterprise linux desktopenterprise linux eusenterprise linux serverenterprise linux server ausenterprise linux server tusenterprise linux workstation
Source: NVD CPE · 22 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

All References (26)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2015-8391
CVSS Score9.8 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-119
CISA KEVNo
Affected5 vendor(s)
PublishedDec 2, 2015

Related CVEs (CWE-119)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2015-8391 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.