GHSA-9ppp-w3g4-fh4q CVE-2026-54897
Oj: Use-After-Free in Oj::Doc Iterators via Reentrant Close
- Severity
- 0.0 / 10
- High · CVSS 4.0
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 0.20%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 10.32% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-416 Use After Free
- Fix
3.17.3- Upgrade oj to this version or later
Description
Summary
Oj::Doc iterators (each_value, each_child, each_leaf) are vulnerable to a heap use-after-free. When a Ruby block yielded during iteration calls doc.close or d.close, the document's heap memory is freed while the C iterator is still running. When control returns from the block, the iterator reads from the freed region, producing a use-after-free accessible from pure Ruby.
Version
- Software: oj gem
- Affected: all versions with
ext/oj/fast.c - Latest tested: 3.17.1 (confirmed present)
Details
The iterators in ext/oj/fast.c follow the pattern:
// fast.c:1505 (doc_each_child)
static VALUE doc_each_child(VALUE self, ...) {
...
while (cur != NULL) {
rb_yield(...); // ← Ruby block executes here
cur = cur->next; // ← cur is now freed if block called close()
}
}
rb_yield can invoke arbitrary Ruby code, including calling close() on the Doc or any child node, which calls ruby_sized_xfree on the backing buffer. On return, the C code reads cur->next from the freed region. All three iterators are affected.
ASAN report (each_child variant):
==253632==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-use-after-free on address 0x5210000bd080
READ of size 8 at 0x5210000bd080 thread T0
#0 doc_each_child /ext/oj/fast.c:1505
0x5210000bd080 is located 896 bytes inside of 4064-byte region [0x5210000bcd00, 0x5210000bdce0)
freed by thread T0 here:
#0 free
#1 ruby_sized_xfree (libruby-3.3.so.3.3)
All three iterators trigger the same freed region (fd shadow bytes):
0x5210000bd080:[fd]fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd fd
Reproduce
require 'oj'
# each_child
Oj::Doc.open('[1,2]') { |doc| doc.each_child { |d| d.close } }
# each_value
Oj::Doc.open('[1,2]') { |doc| doc.each_value { |v| doc.close } }
# each_leaf
Oj::Doc.open('[1,[2]]') { |doc| doc.each_leaf { |d| d.close } }
Affected versions
RubyGems
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| oj | < 3.17.3 |
3.17.3 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
oj RubyGems → 3.17.3
- bundler
bundle update oj # Gemfile: gem "oj", ">= 3.17.3"
Severity breakdown
CVSS 4.0 0.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- None
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- None
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- High
- Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
- None
- Integrity (subsequent systems)
- None
- Availability (subsequent systems)
- None
Weakness
CWE-416: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How to prevent it
- Architecture and Design: Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- Implementation: When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
References
Advisories
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| GHSA-475m-ph3x-64gp Oj: Integer Overflow in Oj.load 2GB String Handling | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-m578-w5vf-rfcm Oj: Use-After-Free in Oj::Parser SAJ Long Key Callback | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-vwm4-62gf-x745 Oj: Use-After-Free in Oj::Parser array_class/hash_class GC Marking | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-9cv6-qcjw-4grx Oj: Negative-Size memcpy in Oj::Parser create_id Attribute Handling | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-q2gm-54r6-8fwm Oj: Use-After-Free in Oj::Parser SAJ Callback via Input Mutation | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-35w3-pjm6-wj95 Oj: Heap Buffer Overflow in Oj.dump Exception Serialization via Large Indent | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-3m6q-jj5j-38c9 Oj: Stack Buffer Overflow in Oj::Doc#each_child via Deeply Nested Input | High | Also affects oj |
| GHSA-fm7p-mprw-wjm9 Oj: intern.c form_attr (uninitialized stack read) | Medium | Also affects oj |
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