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OpenAdvisories
Medium · 5.3 CVE-2026-54270 EUVD-2026-38305GHSA-94rc-8x27-4472

protobufjs: Memory amplification from preserved unknown fields in binary decode

Published Jun 22, 2026 · Updated Jun 23, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. From 8.2.0 to 8.4.2, protobufjs preserved unknown wire elements in message.$unknowns and did not provide a decode-time option to discard unknown fields before retaining them. A crafted protobuf payload containing many unknown fields could therefore cause a decoded message to retain substantially more memory than the input size would suggest, even when unknown-field round-tripping is not needed. protobufjs 8.5.0 added the relevant decode-time options, allowing applications that decode untrusted protobuf data to disable unknown-field retention during decode. protobufjs 8.6.2 flips the default so unknown fields are discarded unless explicitly opted into.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
protobufjs protobuf.js >=8.2.0, < 8.5.0 —

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
npm protobufjs >= 8.2.0, < 8.5.0 8.5.0 GHSA-94rc-8x27-4472

References