CVE-2023-34455: snappy-java's unchecked chunk length leads to DoS

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2023-34455 is a high (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in xerial snappy-java. EPSS estimates a 1.76% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 78% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 15-06-2023
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 13-02-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

snappy-java is a fast compressor/decompressor for Java. Due to use of an unchecked chunk length, an unrecoverable fatal error can occur in versions prior to 1.1.10.1. The code in the function hasNextChunk in the fileSnappyInputStream.java checks if a given stream has more chunks to read. It does that by attempting to read 4 bytes. If it wasn’t possible to read the 4 bytes, the function returns false. Otherwise, if 4 bytes were available, the code treats them as the length of the next chunk. In the case that the `compressed` variable is null, a byte array is allocated with the size given by the input data. Since the code doesn’t test the legality of the `chunkSize` variable, it is possible to pass a negative number (such as 0xFFFFFFFF which is -1), which will cause the code to raise a `java.lang.NegativeArraySizeException` exception. A worse case would happen when passing a huge positive value (such as 0x7FFFFFFF), which would raise the fatal `java.lang.OutOfMemoryError` error. Version 1.1.10.1 contains a patch for this issue.

• CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or ThrottlingThe product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.