GHSA-h7wr-284f-5qvc: Go/github.com/labstack/echo/v4 vulnerability
Impact
Echo v4's opt-in Decompress middleware exposed a gzip-decoded request stream without limiting its expanded size. A small compressed request could therefore produce a very large decoded body. Handlers that read or bind that body could consume excessive memory or CPU, and repeated or concurrent requests could cause denial of service.
The middleware is not enabled by default. A limit on the compressed request size alone does not bound the decompressed size. Applications that already apply an effective body limit after decompression have reduced exposure.
Affected versions and patch
Echo v4 versions through v4.16.0 are affected. Upgrade to v4.16.1.
The patch adds DecompressConfig.MaxDecompressedSize, defaulting to 100 MiB when zero. A value of -1 explicitly disables the limit. Reading beyond the cap returns ErrStatusRequestEntityTooLarge (HTTP 413), including through JSON and XML binding. Bodies exactly at the configured limit remain valid. Streaming enforcement requires callers to handle body-read errors.
Fix commit.
Workarounds
Disable gzip request decompression on exposed routes, or place BodyLimit after Decompress so the application limit applies to decoded bytes. Apply suitable request deadlines and concurrency limits as well.
Credits
Reported by @q490107865. The exact-limit behavior incorporates @Shubham-Padkonde's work in #3136.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
go/github.com/labstack/echo/v4to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.16.1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Echo v4to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in v4.16.1 - Configuration
Disable gzip request decompression on exposed routes.
Echo v4 Decompress middleware gzip request decompression = disabled - Configuration
Place BodyLimit after Decompress so the application limit applies to decoded bytes.
Echo v4 middleware BodyLimit middleware ordering = after Decompress - Configuration
Use DecompressConfig.MaxDecompressedSize to bound the decompressed request size; a value of -1 explicitly disables the limit.
Echo v4 Decompress middleware DecompressConfig.MaxDecompressedSize = 100 MiB when zero - Compensating control
Apply request deadlines and concurrency limits to reduce denial-of-service exposure.
- Operational
Ensure callers handle body-read errors when using streaming enforcement.