CVE-2026-13048: Data::MuForm::Localizer versions through 0.05 for Perl execute Perl from a message catalog header, reached at an arbitrary path because load_lexicon interpolates the language attribute into the catalog filename

Data::MuForm::Localizer versions through 0.05 for Perl execute Perl from a message catalog header, reached at an arbitrary path because loadlexicon interpolates the language attribute into the catalog filename.

loadlexicon builds the catalog path by appending Messages/$lang.po to the directory holding Localizer.pm, where $lang is the language attribute, with no check that it names a bare locale tag. A value holding ../ segments walks out of the message directory, so any readable path with a .po suffix is loaded. While parsing the catalog, extractheadermsgstr takes the Plural-Forms: header, prefixes $ to the bare words nplurals, plural and n, and passes the rest verbatim into a string that is evaluated: the nplurals form evaluates the header expression immediately, and the pluralcode form compiles it into a subroutine whose body runs when a plural message is localized. A header of nplurals=2; plural=(system('...'),0); therefore runs that command as the catalog loads. The evaluation inherits strict, so an expression that assigns to an undeclared variable fails to compile, while one built from calls alone does not.

An application that sets the language attribute from request data, an Accept-Language header or a locale parameter, and an attacker who can place a file with a .po suffix and chosen contents at a readable path, together give code execution as the application user. The message expansion path is not affected: expandnamed substitutes only the placeholder names the caller supplies, and manglevalue returns the value unchanged.