fix(security): reject oversized base64 before decode

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Plugins: suppress false duplicate plugin id warnings when the same extension is discovered via multiple paths (config/workspace/global vs bundled), while still warning on genuine duplicates. (#16222) Thanks @shadril238.
 - Security/Google Chat: deprecate `users/<email>` allowlists (treat `users/...` as immutable user id only); keep raw email allowlists for usability. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Security/Archive: enforce archive extraction entry/size limits to prevent resource exhaustion from high-expansion ZIP/TAR archives. Thanks @vincentkoc.
+- Security/Media: reject oversized base64-backed input media before decoding to avoid large allocations. Thanks @vincentkoc.
+- Security/Gateway: reject oversized base64 chat attachments before decoding to avoid large allocations. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 
 ## 2026.2.14
 

src/gateway/chat-attachments.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   buildMessageWithAttachments,
   type ChatAttachment,
@@ -44,16 +44,20 @@ describe("buildMessageWithAttachments", () => {
   });
 
   it("rejects images over limit", () => {
-    const big = Buffer.alloc(6_000_000, 0).toString("base64");
+    const big = "A".repeat(10_000);
     const att: ChatAttachment = {
       type: "image",
       mimeType: "image/png",
       fileName: "big.png",
       content: big,
     };
-    expect(() => buildMessageWithAttachments("x", [att], { maxBytes: 5_000_000 })).toThrow(
+    const fromSpy = vi.spyOn(Buffer, "from");
+    expect(() => buildMessageWithAttachments("x", [att], { maxBytes: 16 })).toThrow(
       /exceeds size limit/i,
     );
+    const base64Calls = fromSpy.mock.calls.filter((args) => args[1] === "base64");
+    expect(base64Calls).toHaveLength(0);
+    fromSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 });
 
@@ -94,7 +98,8 @@ describe("parseMessageWithAttachments", () => {
   });
 
   it("rejects images over limit", async () => {
-    const big = Buffer.alloc(6_000_000, 0).toString("base64");
+    const big = "A".repeat(10_000);
+    const fromSpy = vi.spyOn(Buffer, "from");
     await expect(
       parseMessageWithAttachments(
         "x",
@@ -106,9 +111,12 @@ describe("parseMessageWithAttachments", () => {
             content: big,
           },
         ],
-        { maxBytes: 5_000_000, log: { warn: () => {} } },
+        { maxBytes: 16, log: { warn: () => {} } },
       ),
     ).rejects.toThrow(/exceeds size limit/i);
+    const base64Calls = fromSpy.mock.calls.filter((args) => args[1] === "base64");
+    expect(base64Calls).toHaveLength(0);
+    fromSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
   it("sniffs mime when missing", async () => {

src/gateway/chat-attachments.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { estimateBase64DecodedBytes } from "../media/base64.js";
 import { detectMime } from "../media/mime.js";
 
 export type ChatAttachment = {
@@ -54,6 +55,11 @@ function isImageMime(mime?: string): boolean {
   return typeof mime === "string" && mime.startsWith("image/");
 }
 
+function isValidBase64(value: string): boolean {
+  // Minimal validation; avoid full decode allocations for large payloads.
+  return value.length > 0 && value.length % 4 === 0 && /^[A-Za-z0-9+/]+={0,2}$/.test(value);
+}
+
 /**
  * Parse attachments and extract images as structured content blocks.
  * Returns the message text and an array of image content blocks
@@ -91,15 +97,10 @@ export async function parseMessageWithAttachments(
     if (dataUrlMatch) {
       b64 = dataUrlMatch[1];
     }
-    // Basic base64 sanity: length multiple of 4 and charset check.
-    if (b64.length % 4 !== 0 || /[^A-Za-z0-9+/=]/.test(b64)) {
-      throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: invalid base64 content`);
-    }
-    try {
-      sizeBytes = Buffer.from(b64, "base64").byteLength;
-    } catch {
+    if (!isValidBase64(b64)) {
       throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: invalid base64 content`);
     }
+    sizeBytes = estimateBase64DecodedBytes(b64);
     if (sizeBytes <= 0 || sizeBytes > maxBytes) {
       throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: exceeds size limit (${sizeBytes} > ${maxBytes} bytes)`);
     }
@@ -163,15 +164,10 @@ export function buildMessageWithAttachments(
 
     let sizeBytes = 0;
     const b64 = content.trim();
-    // Basic base64 sanity: length multiple of 4 and charset check.
-    if (b64.length % 4 !== 0 || /[^A-Za-z0-9+/=]/.test(b64)) {
-      throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: invalid base64 content`);
-    }
-    try {
-      sizeBytes = Buffer.from(b64, "base64").byteLength;
-    } catch {
+    if (!isValidBase64(b64)) {
       throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: invalid base64 content`);
     }
+    sizeBytes = estimateBase64DecodedBytes(b64);
     if (sizeBytes <= 0 || sizeBytes > maxBytes) {
       throw new Error(`attachment ${label}: exceeds size limit (${sizeBytes} > ${maxBytes} bytes)`);
     }

src/media/base64.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+export function estimateBase64DecodedBytes(base64: string): number {
+  // Avoid `trim()`/`replace()` here: they allocate a second (potentially huge) string.
+  // We only need a conservative decoded-size estimate to enforce budgets before Buffer.from(..., "base64").
+  let effectiveLen = 0;
+  for (let i = 0; i < base64.length; i += 1) {
+    const code = base64.charCodeAt(i);
+    // Treat ASCII control + space as whitespace; base64 decoders commonly ignore these.
+    if (code <= 0x20) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    effectiveLen += 1;
+  }
+
+  if (effectiveLen === 0) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  let padding = 0;
+  // Find last non-whitespace char(s) to detect '=' padding without allocating/copying.
+  let end = base64.length - 1;
+  while (end >= 0 && base64.charCodeAt(end) <= 0x20) {
+    end -= 1;
+  }
+  if (end >= 0 && base64[end] === "=") {
+    padding = 1;
+    end -= 1;
+    while (end >= 0 && base64.charCodeAt(end) <= 0x20) {
+      end -= 1;
+    }
+    if (end >= 0 && base64[end] === "=") {
+      padding = 2;
+    }
+  }
+
+  const estimated = Math.floor((effectiveLen * 3) / 4) - padding;
+  return Math.max(0, estimated);
+}

src/media/input-files.fetch-guard.test.ts

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ describe("base64 size guards", () => {
   it("rejects oversized base64 images before decoding", async () => {
     const data = Buffer.alloc(7).toString("base64");
     const { extractImageContentFromSource } = await import("./input-files.js");
+    const fromSpy = vi.spyOn(Buffer, "from");
     await expect(
       extractImageContentFromSource(
         { type: "base64", data, mediaType: "image/png" },
@@ -70,11 +71,17 @@ describe("base64 size guards", () => {
         },
       ),
     ).rejects.toThrow("Image too large");
+
+    // Regression check: the oversize reject must happen before Buffer.from(..., "base64") allocates.
+    const base64Calls = fromSpy.mock.calls.filter((args) => args[1] === "base64");
+    expect(base64Calls).toHaveLength(0);
+    fromSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
   it("rejects oversized base64 files before decoding", async () => {
     const data = Buffer.alloc(7).toString("base64");
     const { extractFileContentFromSource } = await import("./input-files.js");
+    const fromSpy = vi.spyOn(Buffer, "from");
     await expect(
       extractFileContentFromSource({
         source: { type: "base64", data, mediaType: "text/plain", filename: "x.txt" },
@@ -89,5 +96,9 @@ describe("base64 size guards", () => {
         },
       }),
     ).rejects.toThrow("File too large");
+
+    const base64Calls = fromSpy.mock.calls.filter((args) => args[1] === "base64");
+    expect(base64Calls).toHaveLength(0);
+    fromSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 });

src/media/input-files.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { SsrFPolicy } from "../infra/net/ssrf.js";
 import { fetchWithSsrFGuard } from "../infra/net/fetch-guard.js";
 import { logWarn } from "../logger.js";
+import { estimateBase64DecodedBytes } from "./base64.js";
 
 type CanvasModule = typeof import("@napi-rs/canvas");
 type PdfJsModule = typeof import("pdfjs-dist/legacy/build/pdf.mjs");
@@ -110,16 +111,6 @@ export const DEFAULT_INPUT_PDF_MAX_PAGES = 4;
 export const DEFAULT_INPUT_PDF_MAX_PIXELS = 4_000_000;
 export const DEFAULT_INPUT_PDF_MIN_TEXT_CHARS = 200;
 
-function estimateBase64DecodedBytes(base64: string): number {
-  const cleaned = base64.trim().replace(/\s+/g, "");
-  if (!cleaned) {
-    return 0;
-  }
-  const padding = cleaned.endsWith("==") ? 2 : cleaned.endsWith("=") ? 1 : 0;
-  const estimated = Math.floor((cleaned.length * 3) / 4) - padding;
-  return Math.max(0, estimated);
-}
-
 function rejectOversizedBase64Payload(params: {
   data: string;
   maxBytes: number;