Skip to content

crypto: prevent Hmac.digest() from returning uninitialized memory after stream use - #65112

Open
mcollina wants to merge 1 commit into
nodejs:mainfrom
mcollina:fix-hmac-stream-digest-uninitialized-memory
Open

crypto: prevent Hmac.digest() from returning uninitialized memory after stream use#65112
mcollina wants to merge 1 commit into
nodejs:mainfrom
mcollina:fix-hmac-stream-digest-uninitialized-memory

Conversation

@mcollina

@mcollina mcollina commented Aug 7, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Hmac.prototype._flush was aliased to Hash.prototype._flush, which finalizes the native HMAC context but never sets the JavaScript-side kFinalized flag. After an Hmac has been used as a stream, a subsequent Hmac.prototype.digest() call therefore still believes the object has not been finalized and calls into C++ a second time. On that second call the native context has already been reset, so the digest buffer is never written and Digest::MAX_SIZE bytes of uninitialized stack memory are returned to JavaScript.

Hash is not affected because Hash::HashDigest caches its digest (refs #28245); Hmac never received the equivalent protection.

This gives Hmac its own _flush that sets kFinalized, so repeat digest() calls after stream use are handled by the existing DEP0206 guard. As defense in depth, it also sets buf.len = 0 on the native side when the context has already been reset, so unwritten bytes can never be emitted. A regression test covers the stream-then-digest() path.

@nodejs-github-bot

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Collaborator

Review requested:

  • @nodejs/crypto

@nodejs-github-bot nodejs-github-bot added c++ Issues and PRs that require attention from people who are familiar with C++. crypto Issues and PRs related to the crypto subsystem. needs-ci PRs that need a full CI run. labels Aug 7, 2026
@codecov

codecov Bot commented Aug 7, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 85.71429% with 1 line in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 90.13%. Comparing base (e6a8d06) to head (e41218a).
⚠️ Report is 821 commits behind head on main.

Files with missing lines Patch % Lines
src/crypto/crypto_hmac.cc 50.00% 1 Missing ⚠️
Additional details and impacted files
@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main   #65112      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   92.01%   90.13%   -1.88%     
==========================================
  Files         379      752     +373     
  Lines      166972   251826   +84854     
  Branches    25554    47354   +21800     
==========================================
+ Hits       153639   226984   +73345     
- Misses      13041    16177    +3136     
- Partials      292     8665    +8373     
Files with missing lines Coverage Δ
lib/internal/crypto/hash.js 98.17% <100.00%> (-0.86%) ⬇️
src/crypto/crypto_hmac.cc 68.71% <50.00%> (ø)

... and 600 files with indirect coverage changes

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:
  • ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.
  • 📦 JS Bundle Analysis: Save yourself from yourself by tracking and limiting bundle sizes in JS merges.

Hmac.prototype._flush was aliased to Hash.prototype._flush, which
finalizes the native HMAC context but never sets the JavaScript-side
kFinalized flag. After an Hmac has been used as a stream, a subsequent
Hmac.prototype.digest() call therefore still believes the object has not
been finalized and calls into C++ a second time. On that second call the
native context has already been reset, so the digest buffer is never
written and Digest::MAX_SIZE bytes of uninitialized stack memory are
returned to JavaScript.

Hash is not affected because Hash::HashDigest caches its digest
(refs nodejs#28245); Hmac never received the equivalent protection.

Give Hmac its own _flush that sets kFinalized so repeat digest() calls
after stream use are handled by the existing DEP0206 guard. As defense
in depth, also set buf.len = 0 on the native side when the context has
already been reset so unwritten bytes can never be emitted.

Signed-off-by: Matteo Collina <hello@matteocollina.com>
@mcollina
mcollina force-pushed the fix-hmac-stream-digest-uninitialized-memory branch from e410836 to e41218a Compare August 17, 2026 16:41
Comment on lines 190 to 194

@aduh95 aduh95 Aug 18, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Can you add a comment explaining why the classes can no longer share that method? I've tried to come up with one, according to the LLM I'm using it's related to DEP0206 (which makes me wonder: is that change backportable?)

Suggested change
Hmac.prototype._flush = function _flush(callback) {
this.push(this[kHandle].digest());
this[kState][kFinalized] = true; // This diverges from Hash.prototype._flush:
// Hash instances are still usable after a flush, Hmac are not, see DEP0206.
callback();
};

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

nit

Suggested change
assert.deepStrictEqual(streamHmac.digest(), Buffer.alloc(0));

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

c++ Issues and PRs that require attention from people who are familiar with C++. crypto Issues and PRs related to the crypto subsystem. needs-ci PRs that need a full CI run.

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

4 participants