CVE-2021-29482
denial of service in github.com/ulikunitz/xz
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
denial of service in github.com/ulikunitz/xz
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
CVE-2021-29482- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-0896
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
EUVD-2021-0896- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27
github.com/ulikunitz/xz fixes readUvarint Denial of Service (DoS)
Impact
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input.
Patches
The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8.
Workarounds
Limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for your use case.
References
The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in xz.
- Record
GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
CVE-2021-29482- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
CVE-2021-29482- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2021-29482
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2021-29482- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 4 moreShow less
OSVGHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27
github.com/ulikunitz/xz fixes readUvarint Denial of Service (DoS)
Impact
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input.
Patches
The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8.
Workarounds
Limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for your use case.
References
The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in xz.
- Record
GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2022:1276
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.0.9 security update
- Record
RHSA-2022:1276- CVSS 3.1
- 9.4 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2021-29482
xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2021-29482- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGO-2020-0016 No score
Infinite loop in github.com/ulikunitz/xz
An attacker can construct a series of bytes such that calling Reader.Read on the bytes could cause an infinite loop. If parsing user supplied input, this may be used as a denial of service vector.
- Record
GO-2020-0016- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/ulikunitz/xzGo |
before 0.5.8 | 0.5.8 |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzDebian:12 |
before 0.5.6-2 | 0.5.6-2 |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzDebian:13 |
before 0.5.6-2 | 0.5.6-2 |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzDebian:14 |
before 0.5.6-2 | 0.5.6-2 |
servicemeshRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
servicemesh-istioctlRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
servicemesh-mixcRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
servicemesh-mixsRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
servicemesh-pilot-agentRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
servicemesh-pilot-discoveryRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
Show 8 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
kialiRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:v1.24.7.redhat1-1.el8 | 0:v1.24.7.redhat1-1.el8 |
servicemesh-prometheusRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.14.0-16.el8.1 | 0:2.14.0-16.el8.1 |
servicemesh-proxyRed Hat:service_mesh:2.0::el8 From an advisory covering 16 CVEs |
before 0:2.0.9-3.el8 | 0:2.0.9-3.el8 |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.6-1 |
None known |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.6-2 |
None known |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.6-2 |
None known |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.6-2 |
None known |
golang-github-ulikunitz-xzUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.6-20.5.15-1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases, products | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-29482 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Tukaani-project Xz, published April 14, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.44%, the 73rd percentile. Fixed in github.com/ulikunitz/xz 0.5.8.
References
github.com/ulikunitz/xz/security/advisories/GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29482
pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2020-0016
Show 80 moreShow less
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-29482
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2022:1276
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1913333
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2022/rhsa-2022_1276.json
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-28851
huntr.dev/bounties/1e8f07fc-c384-4ff9-8498-0690de2e8c31
sick.codes/sick-2021-016
groups.google.com/g/golang-announce/c/uHACNfXAZqk
istio.io/latest/news/security/istio-security-2022-003
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-29482