585 lines
		
	
	
		
			19 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			585 lines
		
	
	
		
			19 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
| # safe-buffer [![travis][travis-image]][travis-url] [![npm][npm-image]][npm-url] [![downloads][downloads-image]][downloads-url] [![javascript style guide][standard-image]][standard-url]
 | |
| 
 | |
| [travis-image]: https://img.shields.io/travis/feross/safe-buffer/master.svg
 | |
| [travis-url]: https://travis-ci.org/feross/safe-buffer
 | |
| [npm-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/safe-buffer.svg
 | |
| [npm-url]: https://npmjs.org/package/safe-buffer
 | |
| [downloads-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/safe-buffer.svg
 | |
| [downloads-url]: https://npmjs.org/package/safe-buffer
 | |
| [standard-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/code_style-standard-brightgreen.svg
 | |
| [standard-url]: https://standardjs.com
 | |
| 
 | |
| #### Safer Node.js Buffer API
 | |
| 
 | |
| **Use the new Node.js Buffer APIs (`Buffer.from`, `Buffer.alloc`,
 | |
| `Buffer.allocUnsafe`, `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow`) in all versions of Node.js.**
 | |
| 
 | |
| **Uses the built-in implementation when available.**
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## install
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```
 | |
| npm install safe-buffer
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## usage
 | |
| 
 | |
| The goal of this package is to provide a safe replacement for the node.js `Buffer`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| It's a drop-in replacement for `Buffer`. You can use it by adding one `require` line to
 | |
| the top of your node.js modules:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| var Buffer = require('safe-buffer').Buffer
 | |
| 
 | |
| // Existing buffer code will continue to work without issues:
 | |
| 
 | |
| new Buffer('hey', 'utf8')
 | |
| new Buffer([1, 2, 3], 'utf8')
 | |
| new Buffer(obj)
 | |
| new Buffer(16) // create an uninitialized buffer (potentially unsafe)
 | |
| 
 | |
| // But you can use these new explicit APIs to make clear what you want:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Buffer.from('hey', 'utf8') // convert from many types to a Buffer
 | |
| Buffer.alloc(16) // create a zero-filled buffer (safe)
 | |
| Buffer.allocUnsafe(16) // create an uninitialized buffer (potentially unsafe)
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## api
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.from(array)
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v3.0.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `array` {Array}
 | |
| 
 | |
| Allocates a new `Buffer` using an `array` of octets.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.from([0x62,0x75,0x66,0x66,0x65,0x72]);
 | |
|   // creates a new Buffer containing ASCII bytes
 | |
|   // ['b','u','f','f','e','r']
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `array` is not an `Array`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.from(arrayBuffer[, byteOffset[, length]])
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v5.10.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `arrayBuffer` {ArrayBuffer} The `.buffer` property of a `TypedArray` or
 | |
|   a `new ArrayBuffer()`
 | |
| * `byteOffset` {Number} Default: `0`
 | |
| * `length` {Number} Default: `arrayBuffer.length - byteOffset`
 | |
| 
 | |
| When passed a reference to the `.buffer` property of a `TypedArray` instance,
 | |
| the newly created `Buffer` will share the same allocated memory as the
 | |
| TypedArray.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const arr = new Uint16Array(2);
 | |
| arr[0] = 5000;
 | |
| arr[1] = 4000;
 | |
| 
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.from(arr.buffer); // shares the memory with arr;
 | |
| 
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // Prints: <Buffer 88 13 a0 0f>
 | |
| 
 | |
| // changing the TypedArray changes the Buffer also
 | |
| arr[1] = 6000;
 | |
| 
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // Prints: <Buffer 88 13 70 17>
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| The optional `byteOffset` and `length` arguments specify a memory range within
 | |
| the `arrayBuffer` that will be shared by the `Buffer`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const ab = new ArrayBuffer(10);
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.from(ab, 0, 2);
 | |
| console.log(buf.length);
 | |
|   // Prints: 2
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `arrayBuffer` is not an `ArrayBuffer`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.from(buffer)
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v3.0.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `buffer` {Buffer}
 | |
| 
 | |
| Copies the passed `buffer` data onto a new `Buffer` instance.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf1 = Buffer.from('buffer');
 | |
| const buf2 = Buffer.from(buf1);
 | |
| 
 | |
| buf1[0] = 0x61;
 | |
| console.log(buf1.toString());
 | |
|   // 'auffer'
 | |
| console.log(buf2.toString());
 | |
|   // 'buffer' (copy is not changed)
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `buffer` is not a `Buffer`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.from(str[, encoding])
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v5.10.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `str` {String} String to encode.
 | |
| * `encoding` {String} Encoding to use, Default: `'utf8'`
 | |
| 
 | |
| Creates a new `Buffer` containing the given JavaScript string `str`. If
 | |
| provided, the `encoding` parameter identifies the character encoding.
 | |
| If not provided, `encoding` defaults to `'utf8'`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf1 = Buffer.from('this is a tést');
 | |
| console.log(buf1.toString());
 | |
|   // prints: this is a tést
 | |
| console.log(buf1.toString('ascii'));
 | |
|   // prints: this is a tC)st
 | |
| 
 | |
| const buf2 = Buffer.from('7468697320697320612074c3a97374', 'hex');
 | |
| console.log(buf2.toString());
 | |
|   // prints: this is a tést
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `str` is not a string.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v5.10.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `size` {Number}
 | |
| * `fill` {Value} Default: `undefined`
 | |
| * `encoding` {String} Default: `utf8`
 | |
| 
 | |
| Allocates a new `Buffer` of `size` bytes. If `fill` is `undefined`, the
 | |
| `Buffer` will be *zero-filled*.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.alloc(5);
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| The `size` must be less than or equal to the value of
 | |
| `require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit architectures, `kMaxLength` is
 | |
| `(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is thrown. A zero-length Buffer will
 | |
| be created if a `size` less than or equal to 0 is specified.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If `fill` is specified, the allocated `Buffer` will be initialized by calling
 | |
| `buf.fill(fill)`. See [`buf.fill()`][] for more information.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.alloc(5, 'a');
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // <Buffer 61 61 61 61 61>
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| If both `fill` and `encoding` are specified, the allocated `Buffer` will be
 | |
| initialized by calling `buf.fill(fill, encoding)`. For example:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.alloc(11, 'aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=', 'base64');
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // <Buffer 68 65 6c 6c 6f 20 77 6f 72 6c 64>
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| Calling `Buffer.alloc(size)` can be significantly slower than the alternative
 | |
| `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` but ensures that the newly created `Buffer` instance
 | |
| contents will *never contain sensitive data*.
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v5.10.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `size` {Number}
 | |
| 
 | |
| Allocates a new *non-zero-filled* `Buffer` of `size` bytes.  The `size` must
 | |
| be less than or equal to the value of `require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit
 | |
| architectures, `kMaxLength` is `(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is
 | |
| thrown. A zero-length Buffer will be created if a `size` less than or equal to
 | |
| 0 is specified.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is *not
 | |
| initialized*. The contents of the newly created `Buffer` are unknown and
 | |
| *may contain sensitive data*. Use [`buf.fill(0)`][] to initialize such
 | |
| `Buffer` instances to zeroes.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| const buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(5);
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // <Buffer 78 e0 82 02 01>
 | |
|   // (octets will be different, every time)
 | |
| buf.fill(0);
 | |
| console.log(buf);
 | |
|   // <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00>
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Note that the `Buffer` module pre-allocates an internal `Buffer` instance of
 | |
| size `Buffer.poolSize` that is used as a pool for the fast allocation of new
 | |
| `Buffer` instances created using `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` (and the deprecated
 | |
| `new Buffer(size)` constructor) only when `size` is less than or equal to
 | |
| `Buffer.poolSize >> 1` (floor of `Buffer.poolSize` divided by two). The default
 | |
| value of `Buffer.poolSize` is `8192` but can be modified.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Use of this pre-allocated internal memory pool is a key difference between
 | |
| calling `Buffer.alloc(size, fill)` vs. `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)`.
 | |
| Specifically, `Buffer.alloc(size, fill)` will *never* use the internal Buffer
 | |
| pool, while `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size).fill(fill)` *will* use the internal
 | |
| Buffer pool if `size` is less than or equal to half `Buffer.poolSize`. The
 | |
| difference is subtle but can be important when an application requires the
 | |
| additional performance that `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` provides.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Class Method: Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)
 | |
| <!-- YAML
 | |
| added: v5.10.0
 | |
| -->
 | |
| 
 | |
| * `size` {Number}
 | |
| 
 | |
| Allocates a new *non-zero-filled* and non-pooled `Buffer` of `size` bytes.  The
 | |
| `size` must be less than or equal to the value of
 | |
| `require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit architectures, `kMaxLength` is
 | |
| `(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is thrown. A zero-length Buffer will
 | |
| be created if a `size` less than or equal to 0 is specified.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is *not
 | |
| initialized*. The contents of the newly created `Buffer` are unknown and
 | |
| *may contain sensitive data*. Use [`buf.fill(0)`][] to initialize such
 | |
| `Buffer` instances to zeroes.
 | |
| 
 | |
| When using `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` to allocate new `Buffer` instances,
 | |
| allocations under 4KB are, by default, sliced from a single pre-allocated
 | |
| `Buffer`. This allows applications to avoid the garbage collection overhead of
 | |
| creating many individually allocated Buffers. This approach improves both
 | |
| performance and memory usage by eliminating the need to track and cleanup as
 | |
| many `Persistent` objects.
 | |
| 
 | |
| However, in the case where a developer may need to retain a small chunk of
 | |
| memory from a pool for an indeterminate amount of time, it may be appropriate
 | |
| to create an un-pooled Buffer instance using `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` then
 | |
| copy out the relevant bits.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| // need to keep around a few small chunks of memory
 | |
| const store = [];
 | |
| 
 | |
| socket.on('readable', () => {
 | |
|   const data = socket.read();
 | |
|   // allocate for retained data
 | |
|   const sb = Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(10);
 | |
|   // copy the data into the new allocation
 | |
|   data.copy(sb, 0, 0, 10);
 | |
|   store.push(sb);
 | |
| });
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| Use of `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` should be used only as a last resort *after*
 | |
| a developer has observed undue memory retention in their applications.
 | |
| 
 | |
| A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### All the Rest
 | |
| 
 | |
| The rest of the `Buffer` API is exactly the same as in node.js.
 | |
| [See the docs](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html).
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## Related links
 | |
| 
 | |
| - [Node.js issue: Buffer(number) is unsafe](https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/4660)
 | |
| - [Node.js Enhancement Proposal: Buffer.from/Buffer.alloc/Buffer.zalloc/Buffer() soft-deprecate](https://github.com/nodejs/node-eps/pull/4)
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## Why is `Buffer` unsafe?
 | |
| 
 | |
| Today, the node.js `Buffer` constructor is overloaded to handle many different argument
 | |
| types like `String`, `Array`, `Object`, `TypedArrayView` (`Uint8Array`, etc.),
 | |
| `ArrayBuffer`, and also `Number`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The API is optimized for convenience: you can throw any type at it, and it will try to do
 | |
| what you want.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Because the Buffer constructor is so powerful, you often see code like this:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| // Convert UTF-8 strings to hex
 | |
| function toHex (str) {
 | |
|   return new Buffer(str).toString('hex')
 | |
| }
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| ***But what happens if `toHex` is called with a `Number` argument?***
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Remote Memory Disclosure
 | |
| 
 | |
| If an attacker can make your program call the `Buffer` constructor with a `Number`
 | |
| argument, then they can make it allocate uninitialized memory from the node.js process.
 | |
| This could potentially disclose TLS private keys, user data, or database passwords.
 | |
| 
 | |
| When the `Buffer` constructor is passed a `Number` argument, it returns an
 | |
| **UNINITIALIZED** block of memory of the specified `size`. When you create a `Buffer` like
 | |
| this, you **MUST** overwrite the contents before returning it to the user.
 | |
| 
 | |
| From the [node.js docs](https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_new_buffer_size):
 | |
| 
 | |
| > `new Buffer(size)`
 | |
| >
 | |
| > - `size` Number
 | |
| >
 | |
| > The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is not initialized.
 | |
| > **The contents of a newly created `Buffer` are unknown and could contain sensitive
 | |
| > data.** Use `buf.fill(0)` to initialize a Buffer to zeroes.
 | |
| 
 | |
| (Emphasis our own.)
 | |
| 
 | |
| Whenever the programmer intended to create an uninitialized `Buffer` you often see code
 | |
| like this:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| var buf = new Buffer(16)
 | |
| 
 | |
| // Immediately overwrite the uninitialized buffer with data from another buffer
 | |
| for (var i = 0; i < buf.length; i++) {
 | |
|   buf[i] = otherBuf[i]
 | |
| }
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Would this ever be a problem in real code?
 | |
| 
 | |
| Yes. It's surprisingly common to forget to check the type of your variables in a
 | |
| dynamically-typed language like JavaScript.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Usually the consequences of assuming the wrong type is that your program crashes with an
 | |
| uncaught exception. But the failure mode for forgetting to check the type of arguments to
 | |
| the `Buffer` constructor is more catastrophic.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Here's an example of a vulnerable service that takes a JSON payload and converts it to
 | |
| hex:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| // Take a JSON payload {str: "some string"} and convert it to hex
 | |
| var server = http.createServer(function (req, res) {
 | |
|   var data = ''
 | |
|   req.setEncoding('utf8')
 | |
|   req.on('data', function (chunk) {
 | |
|     data += chunk
 | |
|   })
 | |
|   req.on('end', function () {
 | |
|     var body = JSON.parse(data)
 | |
|     res.end(new Buffer(body.str).toString('hex'))
 | |
|   })
 | |
| })
 | |
| 
 | |
| server.listen(8080)
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| In this example, an http client just has to send:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```json
 | |
| {
 | |
|   "str": 1000
 | |
| }
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| and it will get back 1,000 bytes of uninitialized memory from the server.
 | |
| 
 | |
| This is a very serious bug. It's similar in severity to the
 | |
| [the Heartbleed bug](http://heartbleed.com/) that allowed disclosure of OpenSSL process
 | |
| memory by remote attackers.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Which real-world packages were vulnerable?
 | |
| 
 | |
| #### [`bittorrent-dht`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-dht)
 | |
| 
 | |
| [Mathias Buus](https://github.com/mafintosh) and I
 | |
| ([Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org/)) found this issue in one of our own packages,
 | |
| [`bittorrent-dht`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bittorrent-dht). The bug would allow
 | |
| anyone on the internet to send a series of messages to a user of `bittorrent-dht` and get
 | |
| them to reveal 20 bytes at a time of uninitialized memory from the node.js process.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Here's
 | |
| [the commit](https://github.com/feross/bittorrent-dht/commit/6c7da04025d5633699800a99ec3fbadf70ad35b8)
 | |
| that fixed it. We released a new fixed version, created a
 | |
| [Node Security Project disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68), and deprecated all
 | |
| vulnerable versions on npm so users will get a warning to upgrade to a newer version.
 | |
| 
 | |
| #### [`ws`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws)
 | |
| 
 | |
| That got us wondering if there were other vulnerable packages. Sure enough, within a short
 | |
| period of time, we found the same issue in [`ws`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ws), the
 | |
| most popular WebSocket implementation in node.js.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If certain APIs were called with `Number` parameters instead of `String` or `Buffer` as
 | |
| expected, then uninitialized server memory would be disclosed to the remote peer.
 | |
| 
 | |
| These were the vulnerable methods:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| socket.send(number)
 | |
| socket.ping(number)
 | |
| socket.pong(number)
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| Here's a vulnerable socket server with some echo functionality:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| server.on('connection', function (socket) {
 | |
|   socket.on('message', function (message) {
 | |
|     message = JSON.parse(message)
 | |
|     if (message.type === 'echo') {
 | |
|       socket.send(message.data) // send back the user's message
 | |
|     }
 | |
|   })
 | |
| })
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| `socket.send(number)` called on the server, will disclose server memory.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Here's [the release](https://github.com/websockets/ws/releases/tag/1.0.1) where the issue
 | |
| was fixed, with a more detailed explanation. Props to
 | |
| [Arnout Kazemier](https://github.com/3rd-Eden) for the quick fix. Here's the
 | |
| [Node Security Project disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67).
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### What's the solution?
 | |
| 
 | |
| It's important that node.js offers a fast way to get memory otherwise performance-critical
 | |
| applications would needlessly get a lot slower.
 | |
| 
 | |
| But we need a better way to *signal our intent* as programmers. **When we want
 | |
| uninitialized memory, we should request it explicitly.**
 | |
| 
 | |
| Sensitive functionality should not be packed into a developer-friendly API that loosely
 | |
| accepts many different types. This type of API encourages the lazy practice of passing
 | |
| variables in without checking the type very carefully.
 | |
| 
 | |
| #### A new API: `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)`
 | |
| 
 | |
| The functionality of creating buffers with uninitialized memory should be part of another
 | |
| API. We propose `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)`. This way, it's not part of an API that
 | |
| frequently gets user input of all sorts of different types passed into it.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| var buf = Buffer.allocUnsafe(16) // careful, uninitialized memory!
 | |
| 
 | |
| // Immediately overwrite the uninitialized buffer with data from another buffer
 | |
| for (var i = 0; i < buf.length; i++) {
 | |
|   buf[i] = otherBuf[i]
 | |
| }
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### How do we fix node.js core?
 | |
| 
 | |
| We sent [a PR to node.js core](https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/4514) (merged as
 | |
| `semver-major`) which defends against one case:
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| var str = 16
 | |
| new Buffer(str, 'utf8')
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| In this situation, it's implied that the programmer intended the first argument to be a
 | |
| string, since they passed an encoding as a second argument. Today, node.js will allocate
 | |
| uninitialized memory in the case of `new Buffer(number, encoding)`, which is probably not
 | |
| what the programmer intended.
 | |
| 
 | |
| But this is only a partial solution, since if the programmer does `new Buffer(variable)`
 | |
| (without an `encoding` parameter) there's no way to know what they intended. If `variable`
 | |
| is sometimes a number, then uninitialized memory will sometimes be returned.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### What's the real long-term fix?
 | |
| 
 | |
| We could deprecate and remove `new Buffer(number)` and use `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)` when
 | |
| we need uninitialized memory. But that would break 1000s of packages.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ~~We believe the best solution is to:~~
 | |
| 
 | |
| ~~1. Change `new Buffer(number)` to return safe, zeroed-out memory~~
 | |
| 
 | |
| ~~2. Create a new API for creating uninitialized Buffers. We propose: `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)`~~
 | |
| 
 | |
| #### Update
 | |
| 
 | |
| We now support adding three new APIs:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - `Buffer.from(value)` - convert from any type to a buffer
 | |
| - `Buffer.alloc(size)` - create a zero-filled buffer
 | |
| - `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` - create an uninitialized buffer with given size
 | |
| 
 | |
| This solves the core problem that affected `ws` and `bittorrent-dht` which is
 | |
| `Buffer(variable)` getting tricked into taking a number argument.
 | |
| 
 | |
| This way, existing code continues working and the impact on the npm ecosystem will be
 | |
| minimal. Over time, npm maintainers can migrate performance-critical code to use
 | |
| `Buffer.allocUnsafe(number)` instead of `new Buffer(number)`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ### Conclusion
 | |
| 
 | |
| We think there's a serious design issue with the `Buffer` API as it exists today. It
 | |
| promotes insecure software by putting high-risk functionality into a convenient API
 | |
| with friendly "developer ergonomics".
 | |
| 
 | |
| This wasn't merely a theoretical exercise because we found the issue in some of the
 | |
| most popular npm packages.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Fortunately, there's an easy fix that can be applied today. Use `safe-buffer` in place of
 | |
| `buffer`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ```js
 | |
| var Buffer = require('safe-buffer').Buffer
 | |
| ```
 | |
| 
 | |
| Eventually, we hope that node.js core can switch to this new, safer behavior. We believe
 | |
| the impact on the ecosystem would be minimal since it's not a breaking change.
 | |
| Well-maintained, popular packages would be updated to use `Buffer.alloc` quickly, while
 | |
| older, insecure packages would magically become safe from this attack vector.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## links
 | |
| 
 | |
| - [Node.js PR: buffer: throw if both length and enc are passed](https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/4514)
 | |
| - [Node Security Project disclosure for `ws`](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67)
 | |
| - [Node Security Project disclosure for`bittorrent-dht`](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68)
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## credit
 | |
| 
 | |
| The original issues in `bittorrent-dht`
 | |
| ([disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/68)) and
 | |
| `ws` ([disclosure](https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/67)) were discovered by
 | |
| [Mathias Buus](https://github.com/mafintosh) and
 | |
| [Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org/).
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thanks to [Adam Baldwin](https://github.com/evilpacket) for helping disclose these issues
 | |
| and for his work running the [Node Security Project](https://nodesecurity.io/).
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thanks to [John Hiesey](https://github.com/jhiesey) for proofreading this README and
 | |
| auditing the code.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ## license
 | |
| 
 | |
| MIT. Copyright (C) [Feross Aboukhadijeh](http://feross.org)
 |