Write and read the inner length of BSON binary subtype 0x02

The BSON specification defines the payload of the "binary (old)" subtype
0x02 as an int32 followed by that many bytes. to_bson wrote the plain
payload instead, so decoders such as pymongo and libbson-based readers
rejected the bytes, and from_bson returned the inner length as part of the
payload (documented as lenient behavior in gh-5333).

The writer now emits the outer length (payload + 4), the subtype, the inner
int32 holding the payload size, and the payload. The reader requires an
outer length of at least 4 and an inner length equal to the outer length
minus 4 (the cases the bson-corpus lists as decode errors), reports parse
error 112 otherwise, and returns only the payload. Both directions change
together so that the round trip keeps working.

The single-reservation fast path for scalar entries declines subtype 0x02
because it has no room for the inner length.

This is a deliberate exception to the opt-in rule for behavior changes:
the previous output was invalid BSON.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann committed 2026-10-26 06:53:04 +01:00
1 parent d3d39a9c10
commit d2309300e9
3 files changed
+139 -13

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@@ -802,12 +802,11 @@ TEST_CASE("BSON")
CHECK(json::from_bson(result, true, false) == j);
}
SECTION("binary member with subtype 0x02 (old binary) keeps its inner length prefix (lenient parsing)")
SECTION("binary member with subtype 0x02 (old binary) carries an inner length")
{
// documented lenient behavior (see gh-5333): the payload for
// binary subtype 0x02 ("old binary") is returned as-is,
// including its own inner 4-byte length prefix; it is not
// stripped or reinterpreted
// the payload of binary subtype 0x02 ("old binary") starts with an
// int32 that repeats the payload size; the bytes below are what
// pymongo and the bson-corpus (binary.json) use
std::vector<std::uint8_t> const input =
{
0x17, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size (little endian)
@@ -815,16 +814,87 @@ TEST_CASE("BSON")
0x06, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size of binary (little endian)
0x02, // "old binary" subtype
0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // inner length prefix (part of the old-binary payload)
0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // inner length
0x68, 0x69, // payload ('h', 'i')
0x00 // end marker
};
// the inner length prefix is part of the (unmodified) payload
const std::vector<std::uint8_t> expected_payload = {0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x68, 0x69};
const json expected = { { "entry", json::binary(expected_payload, 0x02) } };
// the inner length is not part of the payload
const json expected = { { "entry", json::binary({0x68, 0x69}, 0x02) } };
CHECK(json::from_bson(input) == expected);
CHECK(json::to_bson(expected) == input);
CHECK(json::from_bson(json::to_bson(expected)) == expected);
}
SECTION("binary member with subtype 0x02 (old binary) and empty payload")
{
std::vector<std::uint8_t> const input =
{
0x15, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size (little endian)
0x05, 'e', 'n', 't', 'r', 'y', '\x00', // entry: binary
0x04, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size of binary (little endian)
0x02, // "old binary" subtype
0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // inner length
0x00 // end marker
};
const json expected = { { "entry", json::binary({}, 0x02) } };
CHECK(json::from_bson(input) == expected);
CHECK(json::to_bson(expected) == input);
}
SECTION("binary member with subtype 0x02 (old binary) with an invalid inner length")
{
std::vector<std::uint8_t> input =
{
0x17, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size (little endian)
0x05, 'e', 'n', 't', 'r', 'y', '\x00', // entry: binary
0x06, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size of binary (little endian)
0x02, // "old binary" subtype
0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // inner length
0x68, 0x69, // payload ('h', 'i')
0x00 // end marker
};
SECTION("inner length too long")
{
input[19] = 0x03;
}
SECTION("inner length too short")
{
input[19] = 0x01;
}
SECTION("inner length negative")
{
input[19] = 0xFF;
input[20] = 0xFF;
input[21] = 0xFF;
input[22] = 0xFF;
}
CAPTURE(input)
json _;
CHECK_THROWS_AS(_ = json::from_bson(input), json::parse_error&);
}
SECTION("binary member with subtype 0x02 (old binary) without an inner length")
{
// the payload is shorter than the inner length field
std::vector<std::uint8_t> const input =
{
0x14, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size (little endian)
0x05, 'e', 'n', 't', 'r', 'y', '\x00', // entry: binary
0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // size of binary (little endian)
0x02, // "old binary" subtype
0x01, 0x02, 0x03, // payload without an inner length
0x00 // end marker
};
json _;
CHECK_THROWS_AS(_ = json::from_bson(input), json::parse_error&);
}
SECTION("Some more complex document")