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RUSTSEC-2026-0403

Uninitialized memory exposed when streaming decompression of a legacy frame fails

Published
Last modified
published
Not listed in CISA KEV
Fix
Fixed in 8.2.0
None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub

Summary

The Rust `zstd` crate's streaming decoder (`zstd::stream::write::Decoder`) can pass uninitialized heap memory to its output when it fails to decompress a corrupt legacy-format zstd frame. If an application sends that output somewhere an attacker can read it, the leaked memory could expose sensitive data.

Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.

Read the original description

When decompression fails inside a legacy (zstd v0.4 to v0.7) frame, the bundled zstd library reports the output buffer as fully written although nothing was written. `DCtx::decompress_stream` committed that position even on error, and for a `Vec<u8>` destination this extended the vector's length over uninitialized memory. Legacy support is enabled by default. A 5- or 6-byte corrupt legacy frame is enough: through `zstd::stream::write::Decoder`, up to 32 KiB of stale heap memory is then passed to the wrapped writer on the next `write()` or `flush()`, or when an `auto_flush()`/`on_flush()` decoder is dropped. Whether this reaches an attacker depends on where the application sends the decompressed output. `zstd::stream::read::Decoder`, `zstd::decode_all` and the bulk API are not affected. Before zstd-safe 4.0.0, output buffers could only be initialized slices. The zstd crate's own writer had the same flaw from 0.4.22 to 0.7.x, which is covered by a separate advisory. The flaw was corrected by only committing the buffer positions of a successful call.

Timeline

  1. Advisory published
  2. Record last updated

Affected versions

  • zstd-safecrates.io

    From 4.0.0 · fixed in 8.2.0

References 4

crates.io

rustsec.org

GitHub · gyscos/zstd-rs