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PoC: fastavro Cython read_long() Integer Overflow

Summary

The fastavro Cython extension's read_long() function uses a 64-bit unsigned integer (ulong64) for the varint accumulator. When a crafted varint has more than 9 continuation bytes (shift >= 70 bits), the shift operation causes undefined behavior in C, producing completely wrong decoded values.

Confirmed on fastavro 1.12.1 — Cython and Python produce different results for the same input.

Root Cause

fastavro/_read.pyx, function read_long():

ctypedef unsigned long long ulong64
# ...
n |= (b & 0x7F) << shift  # UB when shift >= 64

The Apache Avro C reference implementation limits varints to MAX_VARINT_BUF_SIZE=10 bytes. fastavro has no such limit.

Demonstrated Mismatch

Varint (hex) Cython Result Python Result Match?
c881808080808080808001 100 590295810358705651812 MISMATCH
8080808080808080808001 32 590295810358705651712 MISMATCH

Impact

  • Data corruption: crafted .avro files decode to attacker-controlled values
  • Behavior divergence: Cython (default) and Python fallback produce different results
  • Spec violation: overlong varints should be rejected per Avro specification

Files

  • poc_cython_overflow.py — demonstrates overflow + enum bypass + read_fixed(-1)

Reproduction

pip install fastavro
python poc_cython_overflow.py

Affected Versions

fastavro <= 1.12.1 with Cython extension (default on CPython).

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