Vulnerabilities in pkg:golang/github.com/ulikunitz/xz

Q: What is CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 is a security vulnerability in Withdrawn Advisory involving Infinite loop in xz under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').

Q: Which Withdrawn Advisory versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 0.5.8 across affected packages: github.com/ulikunitz/xz.

Q: What version fixes CVE-2020-16845?

Upgrading to 0.5.8 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Q: Is github.com/ulikunitz/xz affected?

Yes, github.com/ulikunitz/xz is affected in releases prior to 0.5.8. Upgrade your dependency to 0.5.8 or later.

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Q: What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).

Q: How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2020-16845?

Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/ulikunitz/xz'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

PACKAGE

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g

Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-16845 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) infinite loop vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting Withdrawn Advisory libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves infinite loop in xz. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.5.8.

3 Known Advisory Record(s)

Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:golang/github.com/ulikunitz/xz

3 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:golang/github.com/ulikunitz/xz. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID	CVE / NVD	Severity	Summary
GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g	CVE-2020-16845	HIGH	Withdrawn Advisory: Infinite loop in xz
GHSA-jc7w-c686-c4v9	CVE-2025-58058	MODERATE	github.com/ulikunitz/xz leaks memory when decoding a corrupted multiple LZMA archives
GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27	CVE-2021-29482	HIGH	github.com/ulikunitz/xz fixes readUvarint Denial of Service (DoS)

CVE-2020-16845 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-16845

GHSA Identifier GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g

Severity HIGH

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5

CWE Classification CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')

Affected Product Withdrawn Advisory

Package Ecosystem Go

Published Date 2021-12-16

Last Updated 2025-10-14

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-16845

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Withdrawn Advisory dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

github.com/ulikunitz/xz fixed: 0.5.8

Upgrade github.com/ulikunitz/xz to 0.5.8

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

inspect dependencies for github.com/ulikunitz/xz

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-16845, inspect your project dependencies for Withdrawn Advisory:

inspect dependencies for github.com/ulikunitz/xz

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Withdrawn Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.5.8), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In Withdrawn Advisory, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Withdrawn Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because alerts cannot be issued for the Go standard library at this time. ### Original Description Go before 1.13.15 and 14.x before 1.14.7 can have an infinite read loop in ReadUvarint and ReadVarint in encoding/binary via invalid inputs.

CVE-2020-16845 Affected Withdrawn Advisory Versions

1 component(s)

Fixed Versions:

0.5.8

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions	Fixed Version
github.com/ulikunitz/xz golang/github.com/ulikunitz/xz	Go	< 0.5.8	0.5.8

References

NVD — CVE-2020-16845 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16845

Withdrawn Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/issues/35

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/commit/69c6093c7b2397b923acf82cb378f55ab2652b9b

groups.google.com/forum/ WEB

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-announce/NyPIaucMgXo

groups.google.com/forum/ WEB

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-announce/_ulYYcIWg3Q

lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00037.html

lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00038.html

lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6RCFJTMKHY5ICGEM5BUFUEDDGSPJ25XU

lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KWRBAH4UZJO3RROQ72SYCUPFCJFA22FO

lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TACQFZDPA7AUR6TRZBCX2RGRFSDYLI7O

lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WV2VWKFTH4EJGZBZALVUJQJOAQB5MDQ4

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200924-0002

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4848

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00021.html

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00028.html

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00029.html

Withdrawn Advisory Security Information SECURITY

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00030.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 is a security vulnerability in Withdrawn Advisory involving Infinite loop in xz under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').

Which Withdrawn Advisory versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 0.5.8 across affected packages: github.com/ulikunitz/xz.

What version fixes CVE-2020-16845?

Upgrading to 0.5.8 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is github.com/ulikunitz/xz affected?

Yes, github.com/ulikunitz/xz is affected in releases prior to 0.5.8. Upgrade your dependency to 0.5.8 or later.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-16845?

CVE-2020-16845 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).

How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2020-16845?

Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/ulikunitz/xz'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema

Normalized schema output

View Raw JSON

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g",
  "modified" : "2025-10-14T19:37:19Z",
  "published" : "2021-12-16T19:16:40Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2025-10-14T19:37:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-16845" ],
  "summary" : "Withdrawn Advisory: Infinite loop in xz",
  "details" : "### Withdrawn Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because alerts cannot be issued for the Go standard library at this time.\n\n### Original Description\nGo before 1.13.15 and 14.x before 1.14.7 can have an infinite read loop in ReadUvarint and ReadVarint in encoding/binary via invalid inputs.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/ulikunitz/xz"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.5.8"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16845"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/issues/35"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/commit/69c6093c7b2397b923acf82cb378f55ab2652b9b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-announce/NyPIaucMgXo"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-announce/_ulYYcIWg3Q"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00037.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00038.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6RCFJTMKHY5ICGEM5BUFUEDDGSPJ25XU"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KWRBAH4UZJO3RROQ72SYCUPFCJFA22FO"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TACQFZDPA7AUR6TRZBCX2RGRFSDYLI7O"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WV2VWKFTH4EJGZBZALVUJQJOAQB5MDQ4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200924-0002"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4848"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00028.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00029.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00030.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-835" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-06-18T22:05:40Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-08-06T18:15:00Z"
  }
}

CVSS V3

7.5 HIGH

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability High (A:H)

Vector String

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Advisory Metadata

Source ID: GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g
Schema Version: 1.4.0
Published: 2021-12-16 19:16
Last Modified: 2025-10-14 19:37
Withdrawn: 2025-10-14 19:37
Database Record File: advisories/github-reviewed/2021/12/GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g/GHSA-q6gq-997w-f55g.json