CVE-2023-34455: snappy-java is a fast compressor/decompressor for Java. Due to use of an unchecked chunk length, an unrecoverable fatal error can occur in versions pr...

Description

snappy-java is a fast compressor/decompressor for Java. Due to use of an unchecked chunk length, an unrecoverable fatal error can occur in versions prior to 1.1.10.1. The code in the function hasNextChunk in the fileSnappyInputStream.java checks if a given stream has more chunks to read. It does that by attempting to read 4 bytes. If it wasn’t possible to read the 4 bytes, the function returns false. Otherwise, if 4 bytes were available, the code treats them as the length of the next chunk. In the case that the `compressed` variable is null, a byte array is allocated with the size given by the input data. Since the code doesn’t test the legality of the `chunkSize` variable, it is possible to pass a negative number (such as 0xFFFFFFFF which is -1), which will cause the code to raise a `java.lang.NegativeArraySizeException` exception. A worse case would happen when passing a huge positive value (such as 0x7FFFFFFF), which would raise the fatal `java.lang.OutOfMemoryError` error. Version 1.1.10.1 contains a patch for this issue.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

1.76%

75.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Xerial	Snappy-Java	< 1.1.10.1

References

Timeline

Published: Jun 15, 2023
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-34455?

snappy-java is a fast compressor/decompressor for Java. Due to use of an unchecked chunk length, an unrecoverable fatal error can occur in versions prior to 1.1.10.1. The code in the function hasNextChunk in the fileSnappyInputStream.java checks if a given stream has more chunks to read. It does that by attempting to read 4 bytes. If it wasn’t possible to read the 4 bytes, the function returns false. Otherwise, if 4 bytes were available, the code treats them as the length of the next chunk. In the case that the `compressed` variable is null, a byte array is allocated with the size given by the input data. Since the code doesn’t test the legality of the `chunkSize` variable, it is possible to pass a negative number (such as 0xFFFFFFFF which is -1), which will cause the code to raise a `java.lang.NegativeArraySizeException` exception. A worse case would happen when passing a huge positive value (such as 0x7FFFFFFF), which would raise the fatal `java.lang.OutOfMemoryError` error. Version 1.1.10.1 contains a patch for this issue.

How severe is CVE-2023-34455?

CVE-2023-34455 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.76% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-34455?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.