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RUSTSEC-2026-0403

Uninitialized memory exposed when streaming decompression of a legacy frame fails

No scoreFix available

When decompression fails inside a legacy (zstd v0.4 to v0.7) frame, the bundled zstd library reports the output buffer as fully written although nothing was written. DCtx::decompress_stream committed that position even on error, and for a Vec<u8> destination this extended the vector's length over uninitialized memory.

Legacy support is enabled by default. A 5- or 6-byte corrupt legacy frame is enough: through zstd::stream::write::Decoder, up to 32 KiB of stale heap memory is then passed to the wrapped writer on the next write() or flush(), or when an auto_flush()/on_flush() decoder is dropped. Whether this reaches an attacker depends on where the application sends the decompressed output. zstd::stream::read::Decoder, zstd::decode_all and the bulk API are not affected.

Before zstd-safe 4.0.0, output buffers could only be initialized slices. The zstd crate's own writer had the same flaw from 0.4.22 to 0.7.x, which is covered by a separate advisory.

The flaw was corrected by only committing the buffer positions of a successful call.

What each source reports

OSV No score

Uninitialized memory exposed when streaming decompression of a legacy frame fails

When decompression fails inside a legacy (zstd v0.4 to v0.7) frame, the bundled zstd library reports the output buffer as fully written although nothing was written. DCtx::decompress_stream committed that position even on error, and for a Vec<u8> destination this extended the vector's length over uninitialized memory.

Legacy support is enabled by default. A 5- or 6-byte corrupt legacy frame is enough: through zstd::stream::write::Decoder, up to 32 KiB of stale heap memory is then passed to the wrapped writer on the next write() or flush(), or when an auto_flush()/on_flush() decoder is dropped. Whether this reaches an attacker depends on where the application sends the decompressed output. zstd::stream::read::Decoder, zstd::decode_all and the bulk API are not affected.

Before zstd-safe 4.0.0, output buffers could only be initialized slices. The zstd crate's own writer had the same flaw from 0.4.22 to 0.7.x, which is covered by a separate advisory.

The flaw was corrected by only committing the buffer positions of a successful call.

Record
RUSTSEC-2026-0403
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
zstd-safe
crates.io
4.0.0 up to 7.4.0, 8.0.0-0 up to 8.2.0
7.4.08.2.0

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedOSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

RUSTSEC-2026-0403 is a vulnerability with no CVSS score yet in zstd-safe, published October 16, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in zstd-safe 7.4.0.

References

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