apache / apache/arrow-java

DictionaryEncoder.decode accepts out-of-range dictionary indices

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Java
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Description

`DictionaryEncoder.retrieveIndexVector` guards each index from the index vector with `indexAsInt > dictionaryCount` before `transfer.copyValueSafe(indexAsInt, i)`. Valid indices are `0..dictionaryCount-1`, so the check is off by one: an index equal to `dictionaryCount` is accepted and reads one slot past the dictionary vector, and a negative index (a signed index type with the high bit set) is not rejected either and also reaches `copyValueSafe`. The index vector is decoded from an IPC/C-data payload, so a crafted dictionary-encoded batch yields an out-of-bounds read of the dictionary vector, exposing adjacent off-heap memory when bounds checking is disabled via `arrow.enable_unsafe_memory_access`.

The same helper backs `DictionaryEncoder.decode`, `ListSubfieldEncoder.decodeListSubField` and `StructSubfieldEncoder.decode`.

The bound should be `indexAsInt < 0 || indexAsInt >= dictionaryCount`.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start at DictionaryEncoder.retrieveIndexVector and trace its use from DictionaryEncoder.decode, ListSubfieldEncoder.decodeListSubField, and StructSubfieldEncoder.decode. Verify that negative indices and indices equal to dictionaryCount are rejected before transfer.copyValueSafe; done means crafted dictionary indices cannot reach the dictionary copy with an invalid position.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
74/100

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