Description
msgpack_unpacker_expand_buffer in src/unpack.c, reached through the public msgpack_unpacker_reserve_buffer API, computes its new buffer size using an unchecked size_t addition of the requested size and the amount already used. The doubling loop guards its own multiplication against overflow, but the addition in the loop condition is unguarded, so a request near SIZE_MAX wraps: the loop condition is already satisfied, the allocation is performed at the small pre-wrap size, and the function returns true. The caller is told the requested capacity was reserved when it was not, so a subsequent write of the requested length overflows the heap buffer. The library's own example/lib_buffer_unpack.c demonstrates the reserve-then-write pattern, and its defensive assert comparing capacity against the request is compiled out under NDEBUG. msgpack-c's own decode entry points do not derive the reservation size from untrusted input, so reaching this requires an integration that passes an attacker-influenced length to the reservation API, such as a length-prefixed streaming transport.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| msgpack | msgpack-c | ≤ 7.0.1 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | msgpack-c | 7.0.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | msgpack-c | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | msgpack-c | 7.0.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23630-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | msgpack-c | 7.0.2-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23630-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | msgpack-c | 7.0.2-2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11672-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | msgpack-c | 7.0.2-160000.1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21768-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | msgpack +2 | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 3
- SUSE-SU-2026:23630-1 Security update for msgpack-c SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 29, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21768-1 Security update for msgpack-c SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11672-1 libmsgpack-c2-7.0.2-2.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 3, 2026
References
- GitHub Issue #1181 issue-tracking
- msgpack_unpacker_expand_buffer at c-7.0.1 technical-description
- msgpack_unpacker_reserve_buffer capacity contract at c-7.0.1 technical-description
- Shipped example demonstrating the reserve-then-write pattern technical-description
- https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack-c product
- VulnCheck Advisory: msgpack-c Integer Overflow in msgpack_unpacker_expand_buffer Causes a False-Success Undersized Reservation third-party-advisory