GHSA-4mrv-5p47-p938: MessagePack::Buffer#clear Use-After-Free that Enables Cross-Buffer Disclosure
Summary
MessagePack::Buffer#clear shifts out every chunk and returns its 4 KiB rmem page to the shared pool, but does not reset the buffer's rmem cursor (rmem_last, rmem_end, rmem_owner). The next write sees "unused rmem space" left over from the freed page and hands back a slice of memory that has already been returned to the pool. A second MessagePack::Buffer then re-acquires that same page, so reading the cleared-and-rewritten buffer discloses the second buffer's bytes — a same-process use-after-free with cross-buffer information disclosure (and the symmetric write-corruption).
Details
- msgpack_buffer_clear() → _msgpack_buffer_shift_chunk() (ext/msgpack/buffer.c:151, :128) destroys chunks (_msgpack_buffer_chunk_destroy, :58, returns the page via msgpack_rmem_free) but resets only tail_buffer_end/read_buffer, leaving rmem_last/rmem_end/rmem_owner pointing into the freed page.
- Next Buffer#write → _msgpack_buffer_chunk_malloc() reuse branch (:363) returns b->rmem_last, a pointer into the already-freed page.
- A second buffer's first write calls msgpack_rmem_alloc() and gets the same physical page back from the pool → the two buffers alias the same memory.
- Sanitizer note: rmem (ext/msgpack/rmem.h) recycles pages with a slab bitmask, not free(), so a stock ASAN build does not abort; the cross-buffer disclosure below is the proof.
PoC
Single self-contained script (builds msgpack from rubygems with AddressSanitizer, then runs the PoC):
set -e
WORK="$(mktemp -d)"; cd "$WORK"
1) PoC
cat > poc.rb <<'RUBY'
b1 = MessagePack::Buffer.new(nil, write_reference_threshold: 256)
b1.write('M' * 1000); b1.write('A' * 200); b1.write('N' * 1000)
b1.clear
b1.write('C' * 128)
secret = ('s' * 200) + ('ABCD' * 32) + ('t' * 400)
b2 = MessagePack::Buffer.new(nil, write_reference_threshold: 4096)
b2.write(secret)
leaked = b1.read_all
donor = b2.read_all
puts 'b1_first64:' + leaked.byteslice(0, 64)
puts 'b2_donor64:' + donor.byteslice(200, 64)
puts 'leaked_is_C:' + (leaked == 'C' * 12
Details
Original advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4mrv-5p47-p938
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-545220.12% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 2% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-54522 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
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