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Reject a mode change while an object is incomplete - #736

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AbhinavMir:unpacker-skip-mode-switch
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Reject a mode change while an object is incomplete#736
AbhinavMir wants to merge 1 commit into
msgpack:mainfrom
AbhinavMir:unpacker-skip-mode-switch

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Unpacker keeps its parser state between calls, so an incomplete object stays on the stack. unpack_execute() runs in two modes. Construct mode builds the objects. Skip mode does not.

construct_cb() short circuits in skip mode, so start_container() never sets stack[top].obj. That pointer stays uninitialized after an incomplete skip(). A later unpack() reaches the _array_item call and writes an item through it. The process crashes.

The reverse order is also wrong. An incomplete unpack() builds a container and holds a reference to it. A later skip() overwrites stack[0].obj at _finish and drops that reference.

unpack_context recorded nothing about the mode, and neither unpack_construct() nor unpack_skip() looked at ctx->top. This change adds a construct field to unpack_context. Both entry points now compare it against the requested mode. They raise ValueError when an object is still open and the mode differs.

The check runs before unpack_execute(), so the parser state stays intact. The caller can still finish the object with the original method. The tests cover that.

I used ValueError to match unpack_container_header.h, which raises ValueError for input the parser rejects. RuntimeError in these files marks internal state corruption, so it did not fit.

The new test is test/test_sequnpack.py::test_mode_switch_while_incomplete. It covers both orders. The pure Python Unpacker restarts from a checkpoint and keeps no partial state, so it does not have this failure and does not need the guard. The test carries the same skipif marker that the other C extension tests use.

Unpacker.skip() does not build the objects on the parser stack. So
stack[].obj stays uninitialized after an incomplete skip(). A later
Unpacker.unpack() writes an array item through that pointer and the
process crashes. The reverse order drops the reference that the
construct pass took.

Record the mode that started the object in unpack_context.
unpack_construct() and unpack_skip() now raise ValueError on a change.
The parser state stays intact, so the original mode still finishes the
object.

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🟢 Approval recommended

The guard preserves parser state and the tests cover both unsafe mode-switch directions.

Pull request overview

Prevents unsafe switching between Unpacker.unpack() and skip() while parsing an incomplete container.

Changes:

  • Tracks the active parser construction mode.
  • Rejects incompatible mode switches with ValueError.
  • Adds regression coverage for both switch directions and state recovery.
File summaries
File Description
msgpack/unpack_template.h Adds mode tracking and validation.
test/test_sequnpack.py Tests rejected mode switches and subsequent completion.
Review details
  • Files reviewed: 2/2 changed files
  • Comments generated: 0
  • Review effort level: Balanced

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2 participants