CVE-2026-8450: HTTP::Daemon versions before 6.17 for Perl allow OS command injection via send

HTTP::Daemon versions before 6.17 for Perl allow OS command injection via send_file().

HTTP::Daemon versions before 6.17 for Perl allow OS command injection via send_file(). send_file() opens its string argument with Perl's 2-arg open(). The 2-arg form interprets magic prefixes: '| cmd' and 'cmd |' open a pipe to a subprocess, '> path' and '>> path' open the path for write or append. Untrusted input passed to send_file() can run OS commands at the daemon process UID. The read-pipe form ('cmd |') also leaks subprocess stdout into the HTTP response body. The write-mode forms can create or truncate files at attacker chosen paths.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 9b29abf9-4ab0-4765-b253-1875cd9b441e

What it means for a small business

If your business uses HTTP::Daemon, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 1.4%, higher than 72% of CVEs. That’s above average: worth scheduling this week. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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