You can not select more than 25 topics
Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
584 lines
19 KiB
584 lines
19 KiB
# safe-buffer [![travis][travis-image]][travis-url] [![npm][npm-image]][npm-url] [![downloads][downloads-image]][downloads-url] [![javascript style guide][standard-image]][standard-url] |
|
|
|
[travis-image]: https://img.shields.io/travis/feross/safe-buffer/master.svg |
|
[travis-url]: https://travis-ci.org/feross/safe-buffer |
|
[npm-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/safe-buffer.svg |
|
[npm-url]: https://npmjs.org/package/safe-buffer |
|
[downloads-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/safe-buffer.svg |
|
[downloads-url]: https://npmjs.org/package/safe-buffer |
|
[standard-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/code_style-standard-brightgreen.svg |
|
[standard-url]: https://standardjs.com |
|
|
|
#### Safer Node.js Buffer API |
|
|
|
**Use the new Node.js Buffer APIs (`Buffer.from`, `Buffer.alloc`, |
|
`Buffer.allocUnsafe`, `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow`) in all versions of Node.js.** |
|
|
|
**Uses the built-in implementation when available.** |
|
|
|
## install |
|
|
|
``` |
|
npm install safe-buffer |
|
``` |
|
|
|
## usage |
|
|
|
The goal of this package is to provide a safe replacement for the node.js `Buffer`. |
|
|
|
It's a drop-in replacement for `Buffer`. You can use it by adding one `require` line to |
|
the top of your node.js modules: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
var Buffer = require('safe-buffer').Buffer |
|
|
|
// Existing buffer code will continue to work without issues: |
|
|
|
new Buffer('hey', 'utf8') |
|
new Buffer([1, 2, 3], 'utf8') |
|
new Buffer(obj) |
|
new Buffer(16) // create an uninitialized buffer (potentially unsafe) |
|
|
|
// But you can use these new explicit APIs to make clear what you want: |
|
|
|
Buffer.from('hey', 'utf8') // convert from many types to a Buffer |
|
Buffer.alloc(16) // create a zero-filled buffer (safe) |
|
Buffer.allocUnsafe(16) // create an uninitialized buffer (potentially unsafe) |
|
``` |
|
|
|
## api |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.from(array) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v3.0.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `array` {Array} |
|
|
|
Allocates a new `Buffer` using an `array` of octets. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf = Buffer.from([0x62,0x75,0x66,0x66,0x65,0x72]); |
|
// creates a new Buffer containing ASCII bytes |
|
// ['b','u','f','f','e','r'] |
|
``` |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `array` is not an `Array`. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]]) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v5.10.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `arrayBuffer` {ArrayBuffer} The `.buffer` property of a `TypedArray` or |
|
a `new ArrayBuffer()` |
|
* `byteOffset` {Number} Default: `0` |
|
* `length` {Number} Default: `arrayBuffer.length - byteOffset` |
|
|
|
When passed a reference to the `.buffer` property of a `TypedArray` instance, |
|
the newly created `Buffer` will share the same allocated memory as the |
|
TypedArray. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const arr = new Uint16Array(2); |
|
arr[0] = 5000; |
|
arr[1] = 4000; |
|
|
|
const buf = Buffer.from(arr.buffer); // shares the memory with arr; |
|
|
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 a0 0f> |
|
|
|
// changing the TypedArray changes the Buffer also |
|
arr[1] = 6000; |
|
|
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// Prints: <Buffer 88 13 70 17> |
|
``` |
|
|
|
The optional `byteOffset` and `length` arguments specify a memory range within |
|
the `arrayBuffer` that will be shared by the `Buffer`. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const ab = new ArrayBuffer(10); |
|
const buf = Buffer.from(ab, 0, 2); |
|
console.log(buf.length); |
|
// Prints: 2 |
|
``` |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `arrayBuffer` is not an `ArrayBuffer`. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.from(buffer) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v3.0.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `buffer` {Buffer} |
|
|
|
Copies the passed `buffer` data onto a new `Buffer` instance. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf1 = Buffer.from('buffer'); |
|
const buf2 = Buffer.from(buf1); |
|
|
|
buf1[0] = 0x61; |
|
console.log(buf1.toString()); |
|
// 'auffer' |
|
console.log(buf2.toString()); |
|
// 'buffer' (copy is not changed) |
|
``` |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `buffer` is not a `Buffer`. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.from(str[, encoding]) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v5.10.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `str` {String} String to encode. |
|
* `encoding` {String} Encoding to use, Default: `'utf8'` |
|
|
|
Creates a new `Buffer` containing the given JavaScript string `str`. If |
|
provided, the `encoding` parameter identifies the character encoding. |
|
If not provided, `encoding` defaults to `'utf8'`. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf1 = Buffer.from('this is a tést'); |
|
console.log(buf1.toString()); |
|
// prints: this is a tést |
|
console.log(buf1.toString('ascii')); |
|
// prints: this is a tC)st |
|
|
|
const buf2 = Buffer.from('7468697320697320612074c3a97374', 'hex'); |
|
console.log(buf2.toString()); |
|
// prints: this is a tést |
|
``` |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `str` is not a string. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]]) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v5.10.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `size` {Number} |
|
* `fill` {Value} Default: `undefined` |
|
* `encoding` {String} Default: `utf8` |
|
|
|
Allocates a new `Buffer` of `size` bytes. If `fill` is `undefined`, the |
|
`Buffer` will be *zero-filled*. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf = Buffer.alloc(5); |
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00> |
|
``` |
|
|
|
The `size` must be less than or equal to the value of |
|
`require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit architectures, `kMaxLength` is |
|
`(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is thrown. A zero-length Buffer will |
|
be created if a `size` less than or equal to 0 is specified. |
|
|
|
If `fill` is specified, the allocated `Buffer` will be initialized by calling |
|
`buf.fill(fill)`. See [`buf.fill()`][] for more information. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf = Buffer.alloc(5, 'a'); |
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// <Buffer 61 61 61 61 61> |
|
``` |
|
|
|
If both `fill` and `encoding` are specified, the allocated `Buffer` will be |
|
initialized by calling `buf.fill(fill, encoding)`. For example: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf = Buffer.alloc(11, 'aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=', 'base64'); |
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// <Buffer 68 65 6c 6c 6f 20 77 6f 72 6c 64> |
|
``` |
|
|
|
Calling `Buffer.alloc(size)` can be significantly slower than the alternative |
|
`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` but ensures that the newly created `Buffer` instance |
|
contents will *never contain sensitive data*. |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.allocUnsafe(size) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v5.10.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `size` {Number} |
|
|
|
Allocates a new *non-zero-filled* `Buffer` of `size` bytes. The `size` must |
|
be less than or equal to the value of `require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit |
|
architectures, `kMaxLength` is `(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is |
|
thrown. A zero-length Buffer will be created if a `size` less than or equal to |
|
0 is specified. |
|
|
|
The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is *not |
|
initialized*. The contents of the newly created `Buffer` are unknown and |
|
*may contain sensitive data*. Use [`buf.fill(0)`][] to initialize such |
|
`Buffer` instances to zeroes. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(5); |
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// <Buffer 78 e0 82 02 01> |
|
// (octets will be different, every time) |
|
buf.fill(0); |
|
console.log(buf); |
|
// <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00> |
|
``` |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number. |
|
|
|
Note that the `Buffer` module pre-allocates an internal `Buffer` instance of |
|
size `Buffer.poolSize` that is used as a pool for the fast allocation of new |
|
`Buffer` instances created using `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` (and the deprecated |
|
`new Buffer(size)` constructor) only when `size` is less than or equal to |
|
`Buffer.poolSize >> 1` (floor of `Buffer.poolSize` divided by two). The default |
|
value of `Buffer.poolSize` is `8192` but can be modified. |
|
|
|
Use of this pre-allocated internal memory pool is a key difference between |
|
calling `Buffer.alloc(size, fill)` vs. `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)`. |
|
Specifically, `Buffer.alloc(size, fill)` will *never* use the internal Buffer |
|
pool, while `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)` *will* use the internal |
|
Buffer pool if `size` is less than or equal to half `Buffer.poolSize`. The |
|
difference is subtle but can be important when an application requires the |
|
additional performance that `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` provides. |
|
|
|
### Class Method: Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size) |
|
<!-- YAML |
|
added: v5.10.0 |
|
--> |
|
|
|
* `size` {Number} |
|
|
|
Allocates a new *non-zero-filled* and non-pooled `Buffer` of `size` bytes. The |
|
`size` must be less than or equal to the value of |
|
`require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit architectures, `kMaxLength` is |
|
`(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is thrown. A zero-length Buffer will |
|
be created if a `size` less than or equal to 0 is specified. |
|
|
|
The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is *not |
|
initialized*. The contents of the newly created `Buffer` are unknown and |
|
*may contain sensitive data*. Use [`buf.fill(0)`][] to initialize such |
|
`Buffer` instances to zeroes. |
|
|
|
When using `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` to allocate new `Buffer` instances, |
|
allocations under 4KB are, by default, sliced from a single pre-allocated |
|
`Buffer`. This allows applications to avoid the garbage collection overhead of |
|
creating many individually allocated Buffers. This approach improves both |
|
performance and memory usage by eliminating the need to track and cleanup as |
|
many `Persistent` objects. |
|
|
|
However, in the case where a developer may need to retain a small chunk of |
|
memory from a pool for an indeterminate amount of time, it may be appropriate |
|
to create an un-pooled Buffer instance using `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` then |
|
copy out the relevant bits. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
// need to keep around a few small chunks of memory |
|
const store = []; |
|
|
|
socket.on('readable', () => { |
|
const data = socket.read(); |
|
// allocate for retained data |
|
const sb = Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(10); |
|
// copy the data into the new allocation |
|
data.copy(sb, 0, 0, 10); |
|
store.push(sb); |
|
}); |
|
``` |
|
|
|
Use of `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` should be used only as a last resort *after* |
|
a developer has observed undue memory retention in their applications. |
|
|
|
A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number. |
|
|
|
### All the Rest |
|
|
|
The rest of the `Buffer` API is exactly the same as in node.js. |
|
[See the docs](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html). |
|
|
|
|
|
## Related links |
|
|
|
- [Node.js issue: Buffer(number) is unsafe](https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/4660) |
|
- [Node.js Enhancement Proposal: Buffer.from/Buffer.alloc/Buffer.zalloc/Buffer() soft-deprecate](https://github.com/nodejs/node-eps/pull/4) |
|
|
|
## Why is `Buffer` unsafe? |
|
|
|
Today, the node.js `Buffer` constructor is overloaded to handle many different argument |
|
types like `String`, `Array`, `Object`, `TypedArrayView` (`Uint8Array`, etc.), |
|
`ArrayBuffer`, and also `Number`. |
|
|
|
The API is optimized for convenience: you can throw any type at it, and it will try to do |
|
what you want. |
|
|
|
Because the Buffer constructor is so powerful, you often see code like this: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
// Convert UTF-8 strings to hex |
|
function toHex (str) { |
|
return new Buffer(str).toString('hex') |
|
} |
|
``` |
|
|
|
***But what happens if `toHex` is called with a `Number` argument?*** |
|
|
|
### Remote Memory Disclosure |
|
|
|
If an attacker can make your program call the `Buffer` constructor with a `Number` |
|
argument, then they can make it allocate uninitialized memory from the node.js process. |
|
This could potentially disclose TLS private keys, user data, or database passwords. |
|
|
|
When the `Buffer` constructor is passed a `Number` argument, it returns an |
|
**UNINITIALIZED** block of memory of the specified `size`. When you create a `Buffer` like |
|
this, you **MUST** overwrite the contents before returning it to the user. |
|
|
|
From the [node.js docs](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_new_buffer_size): |
|
|
|
> `new Buffer(size)` |
|
> |
|
> - `size` Number |
|
> |
|
> The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is not initialized. |
|
> **The contents of a newly created `Buffer` are unknown and could contain sensitive |
|
> data.** Use `buf.fill(0)` to initialize a Buffer to zeroes. |
|
|
|
(Emphasis our own.) |
|
|
|
Whenever the programmer intended to create an uninitialized `Buffer` you often see code |
|
like this: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
var buf = new Buffer(16) |
|
|
|
// Immediately overwrite the uninitialized buffer with data from another buffer |
|
for (var i = 0; i < buf.length; i++) { |
|
buf[i] = otherBuf[i] |
|
} |
|
``` |
|
|
|
|
|
### Would this ever be a problem in real code? |
|
|
|
Yes. It's surprisingly common to forget to check the type of your variables in a |
|
dynamically-typed language like JavaScript. |
|
|
|
Usually the consequences of assuming the wrong type is that your program crashes with an |
|
uncaught exception. But the failure mode for forgetting to check the type of arguments to |
|
the `Buffer` constructor is more catastrophic. |
|
|
|
Here's an example of a vulnerable service that takes a JSON payload and converts it to |
|
hex: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
// Take a JSON payload {str: "some string"} and convert it to hex |
|
var server = http.createServer(function (req, res) { |
|
var data = '' |
|
req.setEncoding('utf8') |
|
req.on('data', function (chunk) { |
|
data += chunk |
|
}) |
|
req.on('end', function () { |
|
var body = JSON.parse(data) |
|
res.end(new Buffer(body.str).toString('hex')) |
|
}) |
|
}) |
|
|
|
server.listen(8080) |
|
``` |
|
|
|
In this example, an http client just has to send: |
|
|
|
```json |
|
{ |
|
"str": 1000 |
|
} |
|
``` |
|
|
|
and it will get back 1,000 bytes of uninitialized memory from the server. |
|
|
|
This is a very serious bug. It's similar in severity to the |
|
[the Heartbleed bug](http://heartbleed.com/) that allowed disclosure of OpenSSL process |
|
memory by remote attackers. |
|
|
|
|
|
### Which real-world packages were vulnerable? |
|
|
|
#### [`bittorrent-dht`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-dht) |
|
|
|
[Mathias Buus](https://github.com/mafintosh) and I |
|
([Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org/)) found this issue in one of our own packages, |
|
[`bittorrent-dht`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-dht). The bug would allow |
|
anyone on the internet to send a series of messages to a user of `bittorrent-dht` and get |
|
them to reveal 20 bytes at a time of uninitialized memory from the node.js process. |
|
|
|
Here's |
|
[the commit](https://github.com/feross/bittorrent-dht/commit/6c7da04025d5633699800a99ec3fbadf70ad35b8) |
|
that fixed it. We released a new fixed version, created a |
|
[Node Security Project disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68), and deprecated all |
|
vulnerable versions on npm so users will get a warning to upgrade to a newer version. |
|
|
|
#### [`ws`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws) |
|
|
|
That got us wondering if there were other vulnerable packages. Sure enough, within a short |
|
period of time, we found the same issue in [`ws`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws), the |
|
most popular WebSocket implementation in node.js. |
|
|
|
If certain APIs were called with `Number` parameters instead of `String` or `Buffer` as |
|
expected, then uninitialized server memory would be disclosed to the remote peer. |
|
|
|
These were the vulnerable methods: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
socket.send(number) |
|
socket.ping(number) |
|
socket.pong(number) |
|
``` |
|
|
|
Here's a vulnerable socket server with some echo functionality: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
server.on('connection', function (socket) { |
|
socket.on('message', function (message) { |
|
message = JSON.parse(message) |
|
if (message.type === 'echo') { |
|
socket.send(message.data) // send back the user's message |
|
} |
|
}) |
|
}) |
|
``` |
|
|
|
`socket.send(number)` called on the server, will disclose server memory. |
|
|
|
Here's [the release](https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases/tag/1.0.1) where the issue |
|
was fixed, with a more detailed explanation. Props to |
|
[Arnout Kazemier](https://github.com/3rd-Eden) for the quick fix. Here's the |
|
[Node Security Project disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67). |
|
|
|
|
|
### What's the solution? |
|
|
|
It's important that node.js offers a fast way to get memory otherwise performance-critical |
|
applications would needlessly get a lot slower. |
|
|
|
But we need a better way to *signal our intent* as programmers. **When we want |
|
uninitialized memory, we should request it explicitly.** |
|
|
|
Sensitive functionality should not be packed into a developer-friendly API that loosely |
|
accepts many different types. This type of API encourages the lazy practice of passing |
|
variables in without checking the type very carefully. |
|
|
|
#### A new API: `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)` |
|
|
|
The functionality of creating buffers with uninitialized memory should be part of another |
|
API. We propose `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)`. This way, it's not part of an API that |
|
frequently gets user input of all sorts of different types passed into it. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
var buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(16) // careful, uninitialized memory! |
|
|
|
// Immediately overwrite the uninitialized buffer with data from another buffer |
|
for (var i = 0; i < buf.length; i++) { |
|
buf[i] = otherBuf[i] |
|
} |
|
``` |
|
|
|
|
|
### How do we fix node.js core? |
|
|
|
We sent [a PR to node.js core](https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/4514) (merged as |
|
`semver-major`) which defends against one case: |
|
|
|
```js |
|
var str = 16 |
|
new Buffer(str, 'utf8') |
|
``` |
|
|
|
In this situation, it's implied that the programmer intended the first argument to be a |
|
string, since they passed an encoding as a second argument. Today, node.js will allocate |
|
uninitialized memory in the case of `new Buffer(number, encoding)`, which is probably not |
|
what the programmer intended. |
|
|
|
But this is only a partial solution, since if the programmer does `new Buffer(variable)` |
|
(without an `encoding` parameter) there's no way to know what they intended. If `variable` |
|
is sometimes a number, then uninitialized memory will sometimes be returned. |
|
|
|
### What's the real long-term fix? |
|
|
|
We could deprecate and remove `new Buffer(number)` and use `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)` when |
|
we need uninitialized memory. But that would break 1000s of packages. |
|
|
|
~~We believe the best solution is to:~~ |
|
|
|
~~1. Change `new Buffer(number)` to return safe, zeroed-out memory~~ |
|
|
|
~~2. Create a new API for creating uninitialized Buffers. We propose: `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)`~~ |
|
|
|
#### Update |
|
|
|
We now support adding three new APIs: |
|
|
|
- `Buffer.from(value)` - convert from any type to a buffer |
|
- `Buffer.alloc(size)` - create a zero-filled buffer |
|
- `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` - create an uninitialized buffer with given size |
|
|
|
This solves the core problem that affected `ws` and `bittorrent-dht` which is |
|
`Buffer(variable)` getting tricked into taking a number argument. |
|
|
|
This way, existing code continues working and the impact on the npm ecosystem will be |
|
minimal. Over time, npm maintainers can migrate performance-critical code to use |
|
`Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)` instead of `new Buffer(number)`. |
|
|
|
|
|
### Conclusion |
|
|
|
We think there's a serious design issue with the `Buffer` API as it exists today. It |
|
promotes insecure software by putting high-risk functionality into a convenient API |
|
with friendly "developer ergonomics". |
|
|
|
This wasn't merely a theoretical exercise because we found the issue in some of the |
|
most popular npm packages. |
|
|
|
Fortunately, there's an easy fix that can be applied today. Use `safe-buffer` in place of |
|
`buffer`. |
|
|
|
```js |
|
var Buffer = require('safe-buffer').Buffer |
|
``` |
|
|
|
Eventually, we hope that node.js core can switch to this new, safer behavior. We believe |
|
the impact on the ecosystem would be minimal since it's not a breaking change. |
|
Well-maintained, popular packages would be updated to use `Buffer.alloc` quickly, while |
|
older, insecure packages would magically become safe from this attack vector. |
|
|
|
|
|
## links |
|
|
|
- [Node.js PR: buffer: throw if both length and enc are passed](https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/4514) |
|
- [Node Security Project disclosure for `ws`](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67) |
|
- [Node Security Project disclosure for`bittorrent-dht`](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68) |
|
|
|
|
|
## credit |
|
|
|
The original issues in `bittorrent-dht` |
|
([disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68)) and |
|
`ws` ([disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67)) were discovered by |
|
[Mathias Buus](https://github.com/mafintosh) and |
|
[Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org/). |
|
|
|
Thanks to [Adam Baldwin](https://github.com/evilpacket) for helping disclose these issues |
|
and for his work running the [Node Security Project](https://nodesecurity.io/). |
|
|
|
Thanks to [John Hiesey](https://github.com/jhiesey) for proofreading this README and |
|
auditing the code. |
|
|
|
|
|
## license |
|
|
|
MIT. Copyright (C) [Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org)
|
|
|