CVE-2023-34454 | snappy-java's Integer Overflow vulnerability in compress leads to DoS

snappy-java is a fast compressor/decompressor for Java. Due to unchecked multiplications, an integer overflow may occur in versions prior to 1.1.10.1, causing an unrecoverable fatal error. The function `compress(char[] input)` in the file `Snappy.java` receives an array of characters and compresses it. It does so by multiplying the length by 2 and passing it to the rawCompress` function. Since the length is not tested, the multiplication by two can cause an integer overflow and become negative. The rawCompress function then uses the received length and passes it to the natively compiled maxCompressedLength function, using the returned value to allocate a byte array. Since the maxCompressedLength function treats the length as an unsigned integer, it doesn’t care that it is negative, and it returns a valid value, which is casted to a signed integer by the Java engine. If the result is negative, a `java.lang.NegativeArraySizeException` exception will be raised while trying to allocate the array `buf`. On the other side, if the result is positive, the `buf` array will successfully be allocated, but its size might be too small to use for the compression, causing a fatal Access Violation error. The same issue exists also when using the `compress` functions that receive double, float, int, long and short, each using a different multiplier that may cause the same issue. The issue most likely won’t occur when using a byte array, since creating a byte array of size 0x80000000 (or any other negative value) is impossible in the first place. Version 1.1.10.1 contains a patch for this issue.

Published: 2023-06-15 Last update: 2024-12-12 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-34454 is rated Moderate Risk (48.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.67%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-34454

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-23 0.87% 0.67% -0.20%
2 2026-03-23 0.59% 0.87% +0.28%
3 2026-03-04 — 0.59% —

Full EPSS history (20 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-34454

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.2 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-34454

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-34454

GHSA-fjpj-2g6w-x25r · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — snappy-java's Integer Overflow vulnerability in compress leads to DoS

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-34454

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-34454
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-34454 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (snappy-java), 13 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 8, ignored 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-34454

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-34454

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
xerial snappy-java < 1.1.10.1 cpe:2.3:a:xerial:snappy-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-34454

cvelogic Threat Intelligence