jq is a command-line JSON processor. In commits after 69785bf77f86e2ea1b4a20ca86775916889e91c9, the _strindices builtin in jq's src/builtin.c passes its arguments directly to jv_string_indexes() without verifying they are strings, and jv_string_indexes() in src/jv.c relies solely on assert() checks that are stripped in release builds compiled with -DNDEBUG. This allows an attacker to crash jq trivially with input like _strindices(0), and by crafting a numeric value whose IEEE-754 bit pattern maps to a chosen pointer, achieve a controlled pointer dereference and limited memory read/probe primitive.
Any deployment that evaluates untrusted jq filters against a release build is vulnerable. This issue has been patched in commit fdf8ef0f0810e3d365cdd5160de43db46f57ed03.
Attack Parameters
Impact Assessment
CVSS Vector v3.1