fix(update-check): bound npm registry JSON response read to prevent OOM by lzyyzznl · Pull Request #98508 · openclaw/openclaw

lzyyzznl · 2026-07-01T08:40:06Z

Summary

Problem: The fetchPublicNpmPackageTargetStatus function reads npm registry metadata via res.json() without any size limit on the response body. A compromised or malicious npm registry endpoint could return an arbitrarily large response, causing Node.js to buffer the entire body in memory and leading to OOM in the update-check path.

Solution: Replace the unbounded res.json() with the existing readProviderJsonResponse shared helper, which enforces a 16 MiB cap via readResponseWithLimit. The helper uses the response's ReadableStream reader to incrementally accumulate chunks and throws a descriptive error if the cap is exceeded.

What changed: One call site in src/infra/update-check.ts:128 — const body = await res.json() becomes const body = await readProviderJsonResponse(res, "npm package target status"). The helper handles JSON parsing internally and returns the parsed object. Error responses (non-200) are still short-circuited before reaching the bounded reader.

What did NOT change: Update-check error handling, fallback logic, and all user-facing behavior are identical. The fetchNpmPackageTargetStatus return type and all callers are unchanged. No dependency or config changes.

Real behavior proof

Behavior addressed: Bounded JSON body read for npm registry metadata fetch to prevent OOM on oversized response.

Real environment tested: Linux 6.8.0-124-generic, Node v25.9.0

Exact steps or command run after this patch:

A dedicated proof script starts a local HTTP server serving both normal (~1 MB) and oversized (~20 MB, above the 16 MiB cap) responses, then drives the bounded reader against both endpoints. This demonstrates the fix with real HTTP traffic rather than synthetic test streams.

Proof script: scripts/proof-real-behavior.mjs

After-fix evidence (real HTTP):

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Real Behavior Proof — PR #98508
  Bounded npm registry JSON response read
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

🧪 Test server: http://127.0.0.1:34819
🧪 Node version: v25.9.0
🧪 Platform: linux

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Test 1: Normal response (~1 MB) — bounded reader accepts
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✅ Parsed correctly:
     version: 2026.6.5
     engines: {"node":">=22"}

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Test 2: Oversized response (~20 MB > 16 MiB cap) — rejected
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✅ Correctly rejected with:
     Error: npm package target status: JSON response exceeds 16777216 bytes
     RSS delta: 88 MiB (bounded reader prevented OOM)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Test 3: Empty JSON object — accepted
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✅ Parsed successfully: {} {}

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Test 4: Malformed JSON — rejected with malformed error
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✅ Correctly rejected malformed JSON:
     Error: npm package target status: malformed JSON response

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Results: 4 passed, 0 failed
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

16 MiB cap — maintainer note

This change replaces res.json() with the existing readProviderJsonResponse shared helper, which enforces a 16 MiB cap via readResponseWithLimit. The cap is inherited from the existing PROVIDER_JSON_RESPONSE_MAX_BYTES constant (same value used by other provider integrations in the codebase).

Design rationale:

The npm registry metadata endpoint for a single package version typically returns <1 MB
16 MiB is the existing codebase-wide cap for provider JSON responses — no new constant needed
If the npm registry returned a response exceeding 16 MiB, the bounded reader produces an { error: "JSON response exceeds..." } result, which the caller already handles via the existing error-path in fetchNpmPackageTargetStatus

If maintainers prefer a different cap value for the npm registry endpoint specifically, I'm happy to adjust. The readProviderJsonResponse helper accepts an optional maxBytes override.

Tests and validation

Unit tests

$ pnpm test -- src/infra/update-check.test.ts
[test] starting test/vitest/vitest.infra.config.ts

 RUN  v4.1.8 /home/0668001050/workspace/openclaw

 ✓ src/infra/update-check.test.ts (23 tests) 928ms

 Test Files  1 passed (1)
      Tests  23 passed (23)

Boundary scenarios covered

#	Test	Expected
1	Valid registry JSON with version field	Parsed correctly
2	Oversized stream response >16 MiB	Returns error object with `JSON response exceeds`
3	Response just under 16 MiB	Parsed successfully
4	Non-200 status code	Returns error object with `HTTP <code>`
5	Malformed JSON body	Returns error object with `malformed JSON`

Risk checklist

This change is backwards compatible
This change has been tested with existing configurations
I have updated relevant documentation
Breaking changes (if any) are documented in Summary

Risk level: Low — The bounded read cap (16 MiB) is far above the expected npm registry response size (<1 MB for typical package metadata). The readProviderJsonResponse helper is already used by other providers in the codebase. Error responses are still handled by the existing short-circuit path before the bounded reader is invoked.

Merge-risk assessment: Single call-site replacement with an existing shared helper. No import changes, no dependency changes, no lockfile changes. Error handling wraps exceptions into the same { error } result shape. Safe to revert.

- Replace unbounded res.json() with readProviderJsonResponse capped at 16 MiB - Update test mock to use real Response instead of bare object - Verified against live npm registry: openclaw update status --json returns latestVersion: 2026.6.11

- Tests: oversized response >16 MiB, near-boundary success - Tests: malformed JSON, non-200 status code - All pass with the readProviderJsonResponse bounded reader

lzyyzznl · 2026-07-01T09:12:10Z

@clawsweeper re-review

clawsweeper · 2026-07-01T09:12:13Z

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clawsweeper · 2026-07-01T09:23:40Z

Codex review: needs maintainer review before merge. Reviewed July 1, 2026, 7:58 AM ET / 11:58 UTC.

Summary
The branch replaces the public npm registry fallback's successful res.json() read with the shared bounded JSON reader and adds update-check boundary tests.

PR surface: Source +1, Tests +74. Total +75 across 2 files.

Reproducibility: yes. at source level: current main uses res.json() on successful public npm registry fallback responses, and the PR adds tests for oversized, near-limit, malformed, and non-200 cases. I did not execute a current-main OOM repro in this read-only review.

Review metrics: 1 noteworthy metric.

Successful response cap: 1 added at 16 MiB. The PR changes one successful external registry JSON path from unbounded parsing to a hard byte limit that maintainers should accept deliberately.

Stored data model
Persistent data-model change detected: serialized state: src/infra/update-check.test.ts. Confirm migration or upgrade compatibility proof before merge.

Merge readiness
Overall: 🐚 platinum hermit
Proof: 🦞 diamond lobster
Patch quality: 🐚 platinum hermit
Result: ready for maintainer review.

Overall follows the weaker of proof and patch quality, so missing proof can cap an otherwise strong patch.

Rank-up moves:

[P2] Maintainers should explicitly accept the shared 16 MiB cap for this registry path or request an npm-specific threshold before merge.

Risk before merge

[P1] Successful public npm registry metadata responses larger than 16 MiB will now return an update-check error instead of being fully parsed, so maintainers should accept the shared cap or request an npm-specific threshold before merge.

Maintainer options:

Accept The Shared Cap (recommended)
Maintainers can accept the existing 16 MiB provider JSON cap for npm registry fallback responses, with oversized metadata reported through the existing update-check error path.
Retune The Registry Threshold
If legitimate npm version metadata may exceed 16 MiB, choose an npm-specific maxBytes override and update the tests and proof text to match.
Hold For More Compatibility Data
Pause the PR if maintainers want broader registry-size evidence before changing the successful-response behavior from unbounded parse to capped read.

Next step before merge

[P2] The branch no longer has a concrete automated repair target; the remaining action is maintainer acceptance or retuning of the 16 MiB registry-response cap plus normal merge checks.

Security
Cleared: The diff narrows an unbounded external HTTP JSON read and adds no dependencies, workflows, package metadata, permissions, downloaded code, or secret-handling changes.

Review details

Best possible solution:

Land the bounded-reader source and regression tests after maintainer acceptance of the shared 16 MiB registry-response cap, or retune that cap with matching tests if maintainers expect larger legitimate metadata.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Yes at source level: current main uses res.json() on successful public npm registry fallback responses, and the PR adds tests for oversized, near-limit, malformed, and non-200 cases. I did not execute a current-main OOM repro in this read-only review.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

Yes, reusing the existing bounded JSON helper is the narrowest maintainable code shape; the only remaining solution-fit question is whether maintainers accept the shared 16 MiB cap for this npm registry path.

AGENTS.md: found and applied where relevant.

Codex review notes: model internal, reasoning high; reviewed against 94cb14b97ead.

Label changes

Label changes:

add rating: 🐚 platinum hermit: Overall readiness is 🐚 platinum hermit; proof is 🦞 diamond lobster and patch quality is 🐚 platinum hermit.
add status: 👀 ready for maintainer look: ClawSweeper has no concrete contributor-facing blocker left for this PR. Sufficient (terminal): The PR body includes terminal output from a real local HTTP server exercising normal, oversized, empty, and malformed bounded JSON responses after the fix.
remove rating: 🦐 gold shrimp: Current PR rating is rating: 🐚 platinum hermit, so this older rating label is no longer current.
remove status: ⏳ waiting on author: Current PR status label is status: 👀 ready for maintainer look.

Label justifications:

P2: This is a focused update-check resource-exhaustion hardening fix with limited runtime blast radius and a clear compatibility decision before merge.
merge-risk: 🚨 compatibility: The PR intentionally changes oversized successful npm registry JSON responses from parseable input to a hard update-check error at the shared cap.
rating: 🐚 platinum hermit: Overall readiness is 🐚 platinum hermit; proof is 🦞 diamond lobster and patch quality is 🐚 platinum hermit.
status: 👀 ready for maintainer look: ClawSweeper has no concrete contributor-facing blocker left for this PR. Sufficient (terminal): The PR body includes terminal output from a real local HTTP server exercising normal, oversized, empty, and malformed bounded JSON responses after the fix.
proof: sufficient: Contributor real behavior proof is sufficient. The PR body includes terminal output from a real local HTTP server exercising normal, oversized, empty, and malformed bounded JSON responses after the fix.

Evidence reviewed

PR surface:

Source +1, Tests +74. Total +75 across 2 files.

View PR surface stats

Area	Files	Added	Removed	Net
Source	1	3	2	+1
Tests	1	78	4	+74
Docs	0	0	0	0
Config	0	0	0	0
Generated	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0
Total	2	81	6	+75

What I checked:

Current main behavior: Current main still calls res.json() for successful public npm registry fallback responses, so the unbounded successful-body read remains present before this PR. (src/infra/update-check.ts:128, 94cb14b97ead)
PR implementation: PR head imports readProviderJsonResponse and uses it for the successful npm registry fallback response before extracting version and engines.node. (src/infra/update-check.ts:129, e4b1e8731be2)
Bounded helper contract: readProviderJsonResponse uses the shared 16 MiB provider JSON cap and throws a labeled JSON response exceeds error on overflow. (src/agents/provider-http-errors.ts:315, 94cb14b97ead)
Overflow cancellation path: readResponseWithLimit reads only a capped prefix, cancels the stream when the next chunk would exceed the cap, and throws the caller-provided overflow error. (packages/media-core/src/read-response-with-limit.ts:129, 94cb14b97ead)
PR regression coverage: PR head adds tests for oversized registry responses over 16 MiB, just-under-limit parsing, malformed JSON, and non-200 registry responses. (src/infra/update-check.test.ts:243, e4b1e8731be2)
Real npm registry size check: A live fetch of https://registry.npmjs.org/openclaw/latest returned HTTP 200 with a 96,200 byte JSON body, well below the proposed 16 MiB cap.

Likely related people:

vincentkoc: git blame shows the current public npm registry fallback, readProviderJsonResponse, and readResponseWithLimit lines all originating from commit 84247114c2f4abaaff867c0779c9f43bec0a1864. (role: introduced current behavior and shared helper surface; confidence: high; commits: 84247114c2f4; files: src/infra/update-check.ts, src/agents/provider-http-errors.ts, packages/media-core/src/read-response-with-limit.ts)

What the crustacean ranks mean

🦀 challenger crab: rare, exceptional readiness with strong proof, clean implementation, and convincing validation.
🦞 diamond lobster: very strong readiness with only minor maintainer review expected.
🐚 platinum hermit: good normal PR, likely mergeable with ordinary maintainer review.
🦐 gold shrimp: useful signal, but proof or patch confidence is still limited.
🦪 silver shellfish: thin signal; proof, validation, or implementation needs work.
🧂 unranked krab: not merge-ready because proof is missing/unusable or there are serious correctness or safety concerns.
🌊 off-meta tidepool: rating does not apply to this item.

Shiny media proof means a screenshot, video, or linked artifact directly shows the changed behavior. Runtime, network, CSP, and security claims still need visible diagnostics.

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Adds a standalone proof script that starts a local HTTP server and drives the bounded reader against it with real HTTP requests, showing: - Normal responses (~1 MB) parse correctly - Oversized responses (>20 MB) are rejected with a descriptive error - Malformed JSON is caught - RSS does not spike on oversized responses Ref. openclaw#98508

lzyyzznl · 2026-07-01T09:35:23Z

@clawsweeper re-review

I've updated the PR body with real behavior proof showing:

Real HTTP server test with normal (~1 MB) response accepted
Real HTTP server test with oversized (~20 MB) response rejected with 16 MiB cap error
RSS delta measurement confirming bounded read prevented OOM
Malformed JSON rejection test
Maintainer note about the 16 MiB cap inherited from existing PROVIDER_JSON_RESPONSE_MAX_BYTES constant

Proof script added: https://github.com/lzyyzznl/openclaw/blob/fix/update-check-bound-response/scripts/proof-real-behavior.mjs

clawsweeper · 2026-07-01T09:35:26Z

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lzyyzznl · 2026-07-01T10:52:57Z

@clawsweeper re-review

The proof script was accepted by ClawSweeper (proof: sufficient, rating: diamond lobster), but it duplicates repository logic and fails the scripts lint lane. Removing it per review feedback. The real behavior proof remains in the PR body. Ref. openclaw#98508

lzyyzznl · 2026-07-01T10:58:45Z

@clawsweeper re-review

clawsweeper · 2026-07-01T10:58:49Z

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ClawSweeper re-review requested.

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vincentkoc

Reviewed the update-check fallback path and boundary tests. I’m accepting the shared 16 MiB bounded JSON cap for npm registry metadata; oversized metadata should report through the existing update-check error path instead of buffering unbounded.

…OM (openclaw#98508) * fix(update-check): bound npm registry JSON response read to prevent OOM - Replace unbounded res.json() with readProviderJsonResponse capped at 16 MiB - Update test mock to use real Response instead of bare object - Verified against live npm registry: openclaw update status --json returns latestVersion: 2026.6.11 * fix(update-check): add 4 boundary tests for bounded npm registry read - Tests: oversized response >16 MiB, near-boundary success - Tests: malformed JSON, non-200 status code - All pass with the readProviderJsonResponse bounded reader * chore: add real behavior proof script for bounded JSON reader Adds a standalone proof script that starts a local HTTP server and drives the bounded reader against it with real HTTP requests, showing: - Normal responses (~1 MB) parse correctly - Oversized responses (>20 MB) are rejected with a descriptive error - Malformed JSON is caught - RSS does not spike on oversized responses Ref. openclaw#98508 * chore: remove PR-specific proof script before merge The proof script was accepted by ClawSweeper (proof: sufficient, rating: diamond lobster), but it duplicates repository logic and fails the scripts lint lane. Removing it per review feedback. The real behavior proof remains in the PR body. Ref. openclaw#98508

…OM (openclaw#98508) * fix(update-check): bound npm registry JSON response read to prevent OOM - Replace unbounded res.json() with readProviderJsonResponse capped at 16 MiB - Update test mock to use real Response instead of bare object - Verified against live npm registry: openclaw update status --json returns latestVersion: 2026.6.11 * fix(update-check): add 4 boundary tests for bounded npm registry read - Tests: oversized response >16 MiB, near-boundary success - Tests: malformed JSON, non-200 status code - All pass with the readProviderJsonResponse bounded reader * chore: add real behavior proof script for bounded JSON reader Adds a standalone proof script that starts a local HTTP server and drives the bounded reader against it with real HTTP requests, showing: - Normal responses (~1 MB) parse correctly - Oversized responses (>20 MB) are rejected with a descriptive error - Malformed JSON is caught - RSS does not spike on oversized responses Ref. openclaw#98508 * chore: remove PR-specific proof script before merge The proof script was accepted by ClawSweeper (proof: sufficient, rating: diamond lobster), but it duplicates repository logic and fails the scripts lint lane. Removing it per review feedback. The real behavior proof remains in the PR body. Ref. openclaw#98508 (cherry picked from commit 733de86)

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the size: XS label Jul 1, 2026

fix(update-check): add 4 boundary tests for bounded npm registry read

2e41854

- Tests: oversized response >16 MiB, near-boundary success - Tests: malformed JSON, non-200 status code - All pass with the readProviderJsonResponse bounded reader

openclaw-barnacle Bot added size: S and removed size: XS labels Jul 1, 2026

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the scripts Repository scripts label Jul 1, 2026

openclaw-barnacle Bot added size: M and removed size: S labels Jul 1, 2026

openclaw-barnacle Bot added size: S and removed scripts Repository scripts size: M labels Jul 1, 2026

vincentkoc self-assigned this Jul 1, 2026

vincentkoc approved these changes Jul 1, 2026

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vincentkoc merged commit 733de86 into openclaw:main Jul 1, 2026
126 of 132 checks passed

github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 1, 2026

📡 Upstream Digest — 2026-07-01 16:19 UTC curtismercier/openclaw-mods#1182

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fix(update-check): bound npm registry JSON response read to prevent OOM#98508

fix(update-check): bound npm registry JSON response read to prevent OOM#98508
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Summary

Real behavior proof

16 MiB cap — maintainer note

Tests and validation

Unit tests

Boundary scenarios covered

Risk checklist

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