Google Protobuf

CVE-2025-4565: DOS via RecursionError in Protobuf Pure-Python <=6.31.1
CVE-2025-4565 5.3 - Medium - June 16, 2025

Any project that uses Protobuf Pure-Python backend to parse untrusted Protocol Buffers data containing an arbitrary number of recursive groups, recursive messages or a series of SGROUP tags can be corrupted by exceeding the Python recursion limit. This can result in a Denial of service by crashing the application with a RecursionError. We recommend upgrading to version =>6.31.1 or beyond commit 17838beda2943d08b8a9d4df5b68f5f04f26d901

Java Protobuf: StackOverflow via Untrusted Nested SGROUP Tags
CVE-2024-7254 7.5 - High - September 19, 2024

Any project that parses untrusted Protocol Buffers data containing an arbitrary number of nested groups / series of SGROUP tags can corrupted by exceeding the stack limit i.e. StackOverflow. Parsing nested groups as unknown fields with DiscardUnknownFieldsParser or Java Protobuf Lite parser, or against Protobuf map fields, creates unbounded recursions that can be abused by an attacker.

Memory Corruption

Memory Corruption in protoc's JsonToBinaryStream Use-After-Free
CVE-2024-2410 9.8 - Critical - May 03, 2024

The JsonToBinaryStream() function is part of the protocol buffers C++ implementation and is used to parse JSON from a stream. If the input is broken up into separate chunks in a certain way, the parser will attempt to read bytes from a chunk that has already been freed. 

Go Protobuf TextParser: Panic on Malformed Number (CVE-2023-24535)
CVE-2023-24535 7.5 - High - June 08, 2023

Parsing invalid messages can panic. Parsing a text-format message which contains a potential number consisting of a minus sign, one or more characters of whitespace, and no further input will cause a panic.

Out-of-bounds Read

DDoS via protobuf-java parsing bug before 3.21.7/20.3/19.6/16.3
CVE-2022-3510 7.5 - High - December 12, 2022

A parsing issue similar to CVE-2022-3171, but with Message-Type Extensions in protobuf-java core and lite versions prior to 3.21.7, 3.20.3, 3.19.6 and 3.16.3 can lead to a denial of service attack. Inputs containing multiple instances of non-repeated embedded messages with repeated or unknown fields causes objects to be converted back-n-forth between mutable and immutable forms, resulting in potentially long garbage collection pauses. We recommend updating to the versions mentioned above.

Protobuf MessageSet OOM DoS before 3.18.3 (cpp/python)
CVE-2022-1941 7.5 - High - September 22, 2022

A parsing vulnerability for the MessageSet type in the ProtocolBuffers versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 3.21.5 for protobuf-cpp, and versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 4.21.5 for protobuf-python can lead to out of memory failures. A specially crafted message with multiple key-value per elements creates parsing issues, and can lead to a Denial of Service against services receiving unsanitized input. We recommend upgrading to versions 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 3.21.6 for protobuf-cpp and 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 4.21.6 for protobuf-python. Versions for 3.16 and 3.17 are no longer updated.

Nullptr dereference when a null char is present in a proto symbol
CVE-2021-22570 5.5 - Medium - January 26, 2022

Nullptr dereference when a null char is present in a proto symbol. The symbol is parsed incorrectly, leading to an unchecked call into the proto file's name during generation of the resulting error message. Since the symbol is incorrectly parsed, the file is nullptr. We recommend upgrading to version 3.15.0 or greater.

NULL Pointer Dereference

protobuf allows remote authenticated attackers to cause a heap-based buffer overflow.
CVE-2015-5237 8.8 - High - September 25, 2017

protobuf allows remote authenticated attackers to cause a heap-based buffer overflow.

Memory Corruption