Vulnerability · Published Jul 17, 2025 · Assigned by GitHub_M

CVE-2025-54070OpenZeppelin Contracts's Bytes's lastIndexOf function with position argument performs out-of-bound memory access on empty buffers

Medium 6.9

In plain English

A medium-severity out-of-bounds read in openzeppelin-contracts from OpenZeppelin. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.4% (higher than 34% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 4.0)6.9Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.4%top 65.6% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. Starting in version 5.2.0 and prior to version 5.4.0, the `lastIndexOf(bytes,byte,uint256)` function of the `Bytes.sol` library may access uninitialized memory when the following two conditions hold: 1) the provided buffer length is empty (i.e. `buffer.length == 0`) and position is not `2**256 - 1` (i.e. `pos != type(uint256).max`). The `pos` argument could be used to access arbitrary data outside of the buffer bounds. This could lead to the operation running out of gas, or returning an invalid index (outside of the empty buffer). Processing this invalid result for accessing the `buffer` would cause a revert under normal conditions. When triggered, the function reads memory at offset `buffer + 0x20 + pos`. If memory at that location (outside the `buffer`) matches the search pattern, the function would return an out of bound index instead of the expected `type(uint256).max`. This creates unexpected behavior where callers receive a valid-looking index pointing outside buffer bounds. Subsequent memory accesses that don't check bounds and use the returned index must carefully review the potential impact depending on their setup. Code relying on this function returning `type(uint256).max` for empty buffers or using the returned index without bounds checking could exhibit undefined behavior. Users should upgrade to version 5.4.0 to receive a patch.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
npm@openzeppelin/contracts5.4.0GHSA-9rcw-c2f9-2j55
npm@openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable5.4.0GHSA-9rcw-c2f9-2j55

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
OpenZeppelin openzeppelin-contracts >= 5.2.0, < 5.4.0

Weakness: CWE-125 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

References