Fix out-of-bounds panic in ber2der on malformed BER input - #94
Merged
Conversation
`pkcs7.Parse()` could panic with out-of-bounds slice/index reads when given certain tiny malformed BER inputs, instead of returning an error (CWE-125 / CWE-193).
`readObject()` in ber.go guarded its cursor with `offset > berLen` rather than `>=`, letting `offset` reach `berLen` and still pass, so the subsequent `ber[offset]` read one past the end of the slice. The long-form length branch also sliced `ber[offset:offset+numberOfBytes]` with no upper-bound check.
- Change the high-tag-number guards to `offset >= berLen`
- Add an `offset+numberOfBytes > berLen` check before reading the long-form length octets.
Malformed inputs such as {1F 80}, {1F 05}, {30 81}, and {30 84 01} now return an error instead of panicking. Valid BER/DER, including empty definite-length objects and high-tag-number tags, is unaffected.
Add regression tests covering the malformed inputs (via ber2der and the exported `Parse` entry point) and a positive round-trip test for high-tag-number encodings.
alexcottner
approved these changes
Jul 21, 2026
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
pkcs7.Parse()could panic with out-of-bounds slice/index reads when given certain tiny malformed BER inputs, instead of returning an error (CWE-125 / CWE-193).readObject()in ber.go guarded its cursor withoffset > berLenrather than>=, lettingoffsetreachberLenand still pass, so the subsequentber[offset]read one past the end of the slice. The long-form length branch also slicedber[offset:offset+numberOfBytes]with no upper-bound check.offset >= berLenoffset+numberOfBytes > berLencheck before reading the long-form length octets.Malformed inputs such as {1F 80}, {1F 05}, {30 81}, and {30 84 01} now return an error instead of panicking. Valid BER/DER, including empty definite-length objects and high-tag-number tags, is unaffected.
Add regression tests covering the malformed inputs (via ber2der and the exported
Parseentry point) and a positive round-trip test for high-tag-number encodings.