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Unity unsafe blit formatter allocates from unbounded byte length

Moderate
AArnott published GHSA-w567-gjr2-hm5j Jun 9, 2026

Package

nuget MessagePack (NuGet)

Affected versions

[0.0,2.5.300), [3.0,3.1.7)

Patched versions

2.5.301, 3.1.7

Description

Summary

UnsafeBlitFormatterBase<T>.Deserialize reads an attacker-controlled byteLength from an extension payload and allocates an array based on that value before validating it against the extension header length or remaining payload bytes.

The outer extension header is bounded by available input, but that bound is not used to constrain the inner byteLength before allocation. A very small payload can therefore request a very large T[] allocation.

Impact

Applications are affected when they deserialize untrusted payloads using Unity blit resolvers such as UnityBlitResolver or UnityBlitWithPrimitiveArrayResolver.

This is especially relevant to Unity multiplayer clients or servers that use MessagePack-CSharp for networked values such as vectors, matrices, or primitive arrays. A hostile peer can send an extension payload with a large declared byte length and cause an out-of-memory exception or process termination on memory-constrained platforms.

The resolver is opt-in, but the vulnerable value is pure wire input and the allocation happens before the formatter verifies that the declared bytes are actually present in the extension body.

Affected components

  • Package: MessagePack.UnityClient
  • Resolvers: UnityBlitResolver, UnityBlitWithPrimitiveArrayResolver
  • API: UnsafeBlitFormatterBase<T>.Deserialize
  • Finding IDs: MESSAGEPACKCSHARP-080, duplicate/open variant MESSAGEPACKCSHARP-OPEN-010

Patches

Fixes are prepared and will be released in coordinated patch versions.

Upgrade guidance:

  1. Upgrade MessagePack.UnityClient to the patched version for your release line.
  2. Upgrade companion MessagePack packages in the same dependency graph to the coordinated patched versions.

The fix should validate byteLength before allocation. It should reject negative lengths, lengths greater than the extension body length after metadata, and lengths that are not a valid multiple of the element size.

Workarounds

Patching is recommended.

Until a patched version is available, do not use Unity blit resolvers on data received from untrusted peers. Use safer resolvers or explicitly validate and size-limit messages before deserialization.

References

  • MESSAGEPACKCSHARP-080: unsafe blit formatter allocation from unbounded byte length
  • MESSAGEPACKCSHARP-OPEN-010: duplicate/open finding for the same root cause
  • CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity High
Attack Requirements Present
Privileges Required None
User interaction None
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability Low
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability None

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector: This metric reflects the context by which vulnerability exploitation is possible. This metric value (and consequently the resulting severity) will be larger the more remote (logically, and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerable system. The assumption is that the number of potential attackers for a vulnerability that could be exploited from across a network is larger than the number of potential attackers that could exploit a vulnerability requiring physical access to a device, and therefore warrants a greater severity.
Attack Complexity: This metric captures measurable actions that must be taken by the attacker to actively evade or circumvent existing built-in security-enhancing conditions in order to obtain a working exploit. These are conditions whose primary purpose is to increase security and/or increase exploit engineering complexity. A vulnerability exploitable without a target-specific variable has a lower complexity than a vulnerability that would require non-trivial customization. This metric is meant to capture security mechanisms utilized by the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: This metric captures the prerequisite deployment and execution conditions or variables of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These differ from security-enhancing techniques/technologies (ref Attack Complexity) as the primary purpose of these conditions is not to explicitly mitigate attacks, but rather, emerge naturally as a consequence of the deployment and execution of the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required: This metric describes the level of privileges an attacker must possess prior to successfully exploiting the vulnerability. The method by which the attacker obtains privileged credentials prior to the attack (e.g., free trial accounts), is outside the scope of this metric. Generally, self-service provisioned accounts do not constitute a privilege requirement if the attacker can grant themselves privileges as part of the attack.
User interaction: This metric captures the requirement for a human user, other than the attacker, to participate in the successful compromise of the vulnerable system. This metric determines whether the vulnerability can be exploited solely at the will of the attacker, or whether a separate user (or user-initiated process) must participate in some manner.
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the VULNERABLE SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVE ID

CVE-2026-48514

Weaknesses

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. Learn more on MITRE.

Credits