### Summary
OpenMcdf does not detect cycles in the directory entry red-black tree of a Compound File Binary (CFB) document. A crafted CFB file with a cycle in the `LeftSiblingID` / `RightSiblingID` chain causes `Storage.EnumerateEntries()` and `Storage.OpenStream()` to loop indefinitely, consuming the calling thread with no possibility of recovery via `try/catch`.
### Details
CFB directory entries form a red-black tree linked by `LeftSiblingID` and `RightSiblingID` fields. OpenMcdf's `DirectoryTreeEnumerator` and `DirectoryTree.TryGetDirectoryEntry` traverse this tree without tracking visited node IDs, so a crafted cycle (e.g. entry A's `RightSiblingID` points to entry B, and entry B's `LeftSiblingID` points back to entry A) causes traversal to loop indefinitely.
Two distinct code paths are affected:
- **`Storage.EnumerateEntries()`** - `DirectoryTreeEnumerator.MoveNext()` never returns `false`; the same entry is yielded on every iteration and the caller's `foreach` never exits. Heap grows unboundedly as entries accumulate.
- **`Storage.OpenStream()`** - `DirectoryTree.TryGetDirectoryEntry` loops indefinitely inside `DirectoryEntries.TryGetSibling` during the name lookup.
### PoC
A crafted CFB file with a sibling cycle (see attached) triggers the issue with the following code:
```csharp
using OpenMcdf;
using var ms = new MemoryStream(File.ReadAllBytes("crafted.cfb"));
using var root = RootStorage.Open(ms);
// Never returns - EnumerateEntries loops indefinitely
foreach (var entry in root.EnumerateEntries())
{
Console.WriteLine(entry.Name);
if (entry.Type == EntryType.Stream)
root.OpenStream(entry.Name); // also hangs depending on the cycle structure
}
```
### Impact
A denial of service affecting any application that opens untrusted CFB files with OpenMcdf. A small crafted input carrying a valid CFB magic header (`D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1`) is sufficient to pass initial format validation and reach the vulnerable traversal code. No exception is thrown, so `try/catch` cannot protect callers. The affected thread is unrecoverable without killing the process.
- Source published
- 22 Apr 2026 22:09:01 UTC
- Source modified
- 13 May 2026 13:52:34 UTC
- Observed here
- 23 Oct 2026 16:01:25 UTC
- Source terms
- GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0
Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON
This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.
CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Publisher rating · MODERATE