{
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "iskorotkov/avro is a fast Go Avro codec. Prior to 2.33.0, the Avro array and map decoders looped over an attacker-controlled block-count value without checking the underlying reader\u0027s error state inside the loop body. Reader.ReadBlockHeader returns the count as a Go int, which is 64-bit on amd64 / arm64 targets \u2014 so a producer can declare a block of up to math.MaxInt64 (~9.2 \u00d7 10\u00b9\u2078) elements followed by EOF (or any truncated payload), and the decoder will attempt that many no-op iterations before propagating the error. The realistic ceiling is \"indefinite until the worker is killed externally\" \u2014 a single hostile payload pins a CPU core until the process is OOM-killed, deadline-cancelled, or terminated. Remote, unauthenticated denial-of-service. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.33.0."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-46385",
  "lastModified": "2026-05-29T20:21:38.773",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV40": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackRequirements": "NONE",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "baseScore": 8.7,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
          "version": "4.0",
          "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
        },
        "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-05-29T20:16:27.990",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "url": "https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-w8j3-pq8g-8m7w"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "security-advisories@github.com",
  "vulnStatus": "Deferred",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-400"
        }
      ],
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "type": "Primary"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Go",
        "name": "github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "2.33.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-46385"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-1284",
      "CWE-400",
      "CWE-835"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-18T16:33:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "# CPU Exhaustion in Avro Decoder via Unbounded Block-Count Iteration\n\n## Summary\n\nThe Avro array and map decoders looped over an attacker-controlled block-count value without checking the underlying reader\u0027s error state inside the loop body. `Reader.ReadBlockHeader` returns the count as a Go `int`, which is 64-bit on `amd64` / `arm64` targets \u2014 so a producer can declare a block of up to `math.MaxInt64` (~9.2 \u00d7 10\u00b9\u2078) elements followed by EOF (or any truncated payload), and the decoder will attempt that many no-op iterations before propagating the error. The realistic ceiling is \"indefinite until the worker is killed externally\" \u2014 a single hostile payload pins a CPU core until the process is OOM-killed, deadline-cancelled, or terminated. Remote, unauthenticated denial-of-service.\n\nThe fix exits the loop on the first inner-decode error. It does not bound the loop length itself; for full coverage on untrusted inputs, also configure `Config.MaxSliceAllocSize` and `Config.MaxMapAllocSize` (the latter introduced in `v2.33.0`).\n\n## Description\n\nAvro arrays and maps are encoded as one or more blocks; each block declares an element count followed by that many encoded elements. The decoder reads the block count as a zigzag-encoded `long`, then iterates that many times calling an inner decoder.\n\nThree iteration sites trusted the block count without checking the reader\u0027s accumulated error state between iterations:\n\n- `codec_skip.go` `sliceSkipDecoder.Decode` \u2014 skip helper for arrays.\n- `codec_skip.go` `mapSkipDecoder.Decode` \u2014 skip helper for maps.\n- `reader_generic.go` `Reader.ReadArrayCB` and `Reader.ReadMapCB` \u2014 callback-based decoders used by generic and unmarshaling code paths.\n\nBecause the inner `Decode(nil, r)` call is a no-op when `r` has already errored (it returns immediately without consuming bytes), the loop would run to completion even after the first iteration\u0027s EOF. On `amd64` / `arm64`, `Reader.ReadBlockHeader` returns the count as `int` (= `int64`), so the loop bound is whatever the wire payload specified, up to `math.MaxInt64`. A modest 200-million-count payload (well under 2\u00b3\u00b9) already burns several seconds; a `math.MaxInt \u2212 2` payload (the value used in the regression test `TestDecoder_ArrayMultiBlockExceedsMaxInt` from PR #9) effectively pins the goroutine until external kill.\n\nThis overlaps with [`GHSA-mc57-h6j3-3hmv`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-mc57-h6j3-3hmv): the same large-block-count payload that drives the unbounded loop here also drives the cumulative-arithmetic overflow there (cross-platform), and on a 32-bit target additionally triggers the union-index / byte-slice narrowing.\n\n## Affected components\n\n| File | Function | PR | Fix commit |\n|------|----------|----|------------|\n| `codec_skip.go` | `sliceSkipDecoder.Decode` | \u2014 | [`b124caa`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/b124caa58a821f68f100d86f045f9753b88881e8) |\n| `codec_skip.go` | `mapSkipDecoder.Decode` | \u2014 | [`b124caa`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/b124caa58a821f68f100d86f045f9753b88881e8) |\n| `reader_generic.go` | `Reader.ReadArrayCB` | [#4](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/pull/4) | [`2ce4242`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/2ce4242e6095d93470ab3b37ed6082b0596f325c) |\n| `reader_generic.go` | `Reader.ReadMapCB` | [#4](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/pull/4) | [`2ce4242`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/2ce4242e6095d93470ab3b37ed6082b0596f325c) |\n\nThese are the audited and patched sites. Any other code path that iterates over an attacker-controlled count while calling a `Reader`-style decoder is structurally susceptible to the same pattern; reviewers of consumer code should grep for `for range l` / `for i := 0; i \u003c int(l); i++` near `Reader` method calls and confirm an in-loop error check.\n\n## Technical details\n\n**Vulnerable pattern:**\n\n```go\nfor range l {\n    d.decoder.Decode(nil, r)\n    // r.Error may have been set by Decode; loop continues regardless.\n}\n```\n\nAfter `r.Error != nil`, subsequent `Decode` calls short-circuit and return without consuming bytes or doing useful work, but the loop control variable still runs to `l`. With `l = math.MaxInt64`, the loop body executes ~9.2 \u00d7 10\u00b9\u2078 times \u2014 effectively infinite for any realistic timeout.\n\n**Fixed pattern** ([`b124caa`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/b124caa58a821f68f100d86f045f9753b88881e8), [`2ce4242`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/2ce4242e6095d93470ab3b37ed6082b0596f325c)):\n\n```go\nfor range l {\n    d.decoder.Decode(nil, r)\n    if r.Error != nil {\n        break\n    }\n}\n```\n\nThe fix terminates the loop on the first inner error. It does **not** bound `l` itself \u2014 a well-formed payload that actually contains `N` encoded `null` elements still iterates `N` times. The `MaxSliceAllocSize` / `MaxMapAllocSize` caps are the policy-level bound on that case (see Mitigation).\n\n## Fixed behavior\n\nThe reader\u0027s accumulated error is checked after every inner `Decode` in the four affected loops. Decoder errors now surface in O(1) iterations instead of O(blockCount) when the underlying read fails mid-stream.\n\n## Affected versions\n\n- `github.com/hamba/avro/v2` \u2014 all versions up to and including `v2.31.0` (repository is read-only upstream).\n- `github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2` \u2014 all versions prior to `v2.33.0`.\n\n## Fixed versions\n\n`github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2` `v2.33.0` and later. There is no upstream fix for `github.com/hamba/avro/v2` \u2014 module path is archived. Migrate to the fork as described under Mitigation.\n\n## Mitigation\n\nMigrate from `github.com/hamba/avro/v2` to `github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2 \u003e= v2.33.0`. Replace the import path and run `go mod tidy`:\n\n```bash\ngo get github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2@latest\n```\n\nOr, for consumers that prefer the original import path, a `replace` directive in `go.mod`:\n\n```\nreplace github.com/hamba/avro/v2 =\u003e github.com/iskorotkov/avro/v2 v2.33.0\n```\n\n`replace` is honoured only for the **main** module of a build \u2014 transitive consumers must add their own `replace`, or migrate the import path directly.\n\nThe error-propagation fix runs on the existing decode path and requires no configuration.\n\nFor defense-in-depth against well-formed but oversized payloads (where the fix above does not help, because no error fires), set explicit allocation caps:\n\n```go\ncfg := avro.Config{\n    MaxByteSliceSize:  102_400,\n    MaxSliceAllocSize: 10_000,\n    MaxMapAllocSize:   10_000,\n}.Freeze()\n\ndecoder := cfg.NewDecoder(schema, reader)\n```\n\n`MaxMapAllocSize` is new in `v2.33.0` and opt-in (default zero, which leaves the previous unbounded behavior). Without setting it, a producer that ships a `math.MaxInt64`-count block still consumes the corresponding memory and CPU; see [`GHSA-mx64-mj3q-7prj`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-mx64-mj3q-7prj) for the cumulative-allocation enforcement details.\n\nIf you cannot upgrade immediately, the structural workarounds are application-level: per-request decode timeouts, isolated decoder workers under CPU quotas, and rejection of payloads whose advertised block count exceeds a known sane bound for your schema.\n\n## Proof-of-concept input\n\nA minimal payload that triggers the bug for an array of `int`:\n\n```\nzigzag-encoded long: math.MaxInt64   (block element count)\nEOF                                  (no further bytes)\n```\n\nThe decoder reads the block-count header, enters the loop, fails to read the first element (EOF), records the error, and then iterates `math.MaxInt64 \u2212 1` further times calling the inner decoder as a no-op. Wall-clock cost on commodity hardware: indefinite \u2014 the goroutine pins one CPU core until the process is OOM-killed, deadline-cancelled, or terminated externally. The classic *\"a few seconds per request\"* characterisation applies only to small-but-still-pathological block counts in the 10\u2078\u201310\u2079 range (e.g. `200_999_000` in `TestDecoder_SkipArrayEOF`); the architectural ceiling is `math.MaxInt64`.\n\nA negative block count (`-N`) is also legal in Avro (signals an N-element block with an explicit byte length); the same iteration pattern applies once the count is negated.\n\n## References\n\n- Fix PR: [iskorotkov/avro#4](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/pull/4) (callback path)\n- Fix commits: [`b124caa`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/b124caa58a821f68f100d86f045f9753b88881e8) (skip helpers), [`2ce4242`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/commit/2ce4242e6095d93470ab3b37ed6082b0596f325c) (callback path)\n- Release: [`v2.33.0`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/releases/tag/v2.33.0)\n- Security policy: [`SECURITY.md`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/blob/main/SECURITY.md)\n- Related advisories on this fork: [`GHSA-mc57-h6j3-3hmv`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-mc57-h6j3-3hmv) (integer overflow \u2014 same large-block-count payload also triggers cumulative-arithmetic overflow there), [`GHSA-mx64-mj3q-7prj`](https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-mx64-mj3q-7prj) (unbounded map allocation \u2014 the policy-level bound on well-formed huge inputs)\n- Cross-module precedent on `hamba/avro`: [`GO-2023-1930`](https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2023-1930) / `CVE-2023-37475` / `GHSA-9x44-9pgq-cf45`\n- Upstream (read-only): [`hamba/avro`](https://github.com/hamba/avro)\n\n## Credits\n\n- **Discovery and fixes** (commits `b124caa` skip helpers and `2ce4242` callback path, PR #4): Daniel B\u0142a\u017cewicz ([@klajok](https://github.com/klajok))\n- **Release authorship**: Ivan Korotkov ([@iskorotkov](https://github.com/iskorotkov))\n\n## Timeline\n\n- **2026-04-28** \u2014 Skip-decoder fix (`b124caa`) merged.\n- **2026-04-30** \u2014 Callback-decoder fix (PR #4, `2ce4242`) merged.\n- **2026-05-06** \u2014 `v2.33.0` tagged and released.\n- **2026-05-11** \u2014 Advisory published.\n- **2026-05-15** \u2014 Advisory revised.",
  "id": "GHSA-w8j3-pq8g-8m7w",
  "modified": "2026-05-18T16:33:43Z",
  "published": "2026-05-18T16:33:43Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro/security/advisories/GHSA-w8j3-pq8g-8m7w"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/iskorotkov/avro"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "iskorotkov/avro: CPU Exhaustion in Decoder"
}