gh-115398: Expose Expat >=2.6.0 reparse deferral API (CVE-2023-52425) (GH-115623)

Allow controlling Expat >=2.6.0 reparse deferral (CVE-2023-52425) by adding five new methods:

- `xml.etree.ElementTree.XMLParser.flush`
- `xml.etree.ElementTree.XMLPullParser.flush`
- `xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled`
- `xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled`
- `xml.sax.expatreader.ExpatParser.flush`

Based on the "flush" idea from #115138 (comment) .

### Notes

- Please treat as a security fix related to CVE-2023-52425.

Includes code suggested-by: Snild Dolkow <[email protected]>
and by core dev Serhiy Storchaka.

Author: hartwork

Doc/library/pyexpat.rst

@@ -196,6 +196,37 @@ XMLParser Objects
    :exc:`ExpatError` to be raised with the :attr:`code` attribute set to
    ``errors.codes[errors.XML_ERROR_CANT_CHANGE_FEATURE_ONCE_PARSING]``.
 
+.. method:: xmlparser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(enabled)
+
+   .. warning::
+
+      Calling ``SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)`` has security implications,
+      as detailed below; please make sure to understand these consequences
+      prior to using the ``SetReparseDeferralEnabled`` method.
+
+   Expat 2.6.0 introduced a security mechanism called "reparse deferral"
+   where instead of causing denial of service through quadratic runtime
+   from reparsing large tokens, reparsing of unfinished tokens is now delayed
+   by default until a sufficient amount of input is reached.
+   Due to this delay, registered handlers may — depending of the sizing of
+   input chunks pushed to Expat — no longer be called right after pushing new
+   input to the parser.  Where immediate feedback and taking over responsiblity
+   of protecting against denial of service from large tokens are both wanted,
+   calling ``SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)`` disables reparse deferral
+   for the current Expat parser instance, temporarily or altogether.
+   Calling ``SetReparseDeferralEnabled(True)`` allows re-enabling reparse
+   deferral.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.13
+
+.. method:: xmlparser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled()
+
+   Returns whether reparse deferral is currently enabled for the given
+   Expat parser instance.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.13
+
+
 :class:`xmlparser` objects have the following attributes:
 
 

Doc/library/xml.etree.elementtree.rst

@@ -166,6 +166,11 @@ data but would still like to have incremental parsing capabilities, take a look
 at :func:`iterparse`.  It can be useful when you're reading a large XML document
 and don't want to hold it wholly in memory.
 
+Where *immediate* feedback through events is wanted, calling method
+:meth:`XMLPullParser.flush` can help reduce delay;
+please make sure to study the related security notes.
+
+
 Finding interesting elements
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
@@ -1387,6 +1392,19 @@ XMLParser Objects
 
       Feeds data to the parser.  *data* is encoded data.
 
+
+   .. method:: flush()
+
+      Triggers parsing of any previously fed unparsed data, which can be
+      used to ensure more immediate feedback, in particular with Expat >=2.6.0.
+      The implementation of :meth:`flush` temporarily disables reparse deferral
+      with Expat (if currently enabled) and triggers a reparse.
+      Disabling reparse deferral has security consequences; please see
+      :meth:`xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled` for details.
+
+      .. versionadded:: 3.13
+
+
    :meth:`XMLParser.feed` calls *target*\'s ``start(tag, attrs_dict)`` method
    for each opening tag, its ``end(tag)`` method for each closing tag, and data
    is processed by method ``data(data)``.  For further supported callback
@@ -1448,6 +1466,17 @@ XMLPullParser Objects
 
       Feed the given bytes data to the parser.
 
+   .. method:: flush()
+
+      Triggers parsing of any previously fed unparsed data, which can be
+      used to ensure more immediate feedback, in particular with Expat >=2.6.0.
+      The implementation of :meth:`flush` temporarily disables reparse deferral
+      with Expat (if currently enabled) and triggers a reparse.
+      Disabling reparse deferral has security consequences; please see
+      :meth:`xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled` for details.
+
+      .. versionadded:: 3.13
+
    .. method:: close()
 
       Signal the parser that the data stream is terminated. Unlike

Doc/whatsnew/3.13.rst

@@ -174,6 +174,17 @@ Other Language Changes
 
   (Contributed by Victor Stinner in :gh:`114570`.)
 
+* Allow controlling Expat >=2.6.0 reparse deferral (CVE-2023-52425)
+  by adding five new methods:
+
+  * :meth:`xml.etree.ElementTree.XMLParser.flush`
+  * :meth:`xml.etree.ElementTree.XMLPullParser.flush`
+  * :meth:`xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled`
+  * :meth:`xml.parsers.expat.xmlparser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled`
+  * :meth:`!xml.sax.expatreader.ExpatParser.flush`
+
+  (Contributed by Sebastian Pipping in :gh:`115623`.)
+
 
 New Modules
 ===========

Include/pyexpat.h

@@ -48,8 +48,10 @@ struct PyExpat_CAPI
     enum XML_Status (*SetEncoding)(XML_Parser parser, const XML_Char *encoding);
     int (*DefaultUnknownEncodingHandler)(
         void *encodingHandlerData, const XML_Char *name, XML_Encoding *info);
-    /* might be none for expat < 2.1.0 */
+    /* might be NULL for expat < 2.1.0 */
     int (*SetHashSalt)(XML_Parser parser, unsigned long hash_salt);
+    /* might be NULL for expat < 2.6.0 */
+    XML_Bool (*SetReparseDeferralEnabled)(XML_Parser parser, XML_Bool enabled);
     /* always add new stuff to the end! */
 };
 

Lib/test/test_pyexpat.py

@@ -755,5 +755,59 @@ def resolve_entity(context, base, system_id, public_id):
         self.assertEqual(handler_call_args, [("bar", "baz")])
 
 
+class ReparseDeferralTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_getter_setter_round_trip(self):
+        parser = expat.ParserCreate()
+        enabled = (expat.version_info >= (2, 6, 0))
+
+        self.assertIs(parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled(), enabled)
+        parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)
+        self.assertIs(parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled(), False)
+        parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(True)
+        self.assertIs(parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled(), enabled)
+
+    def test_reparse_deferral_enabled(self):
+        if expat.version_info < (2, 6, 0):
+            self.skipTest(f'Expat {expat.version_info} does not '
+                          'support reparse deferral')
+
+        started = []
+
+        def start_element(name, _):
+            started.append(name)
+
+        parser = expat.ParserCreate()
+        parser.StartElementHandler = start_element
+        self.assertTrue(parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        for chunk in (b'<doc', b'/>'):
+            parser.Parse(chunk, False)
+
+        # The key test: Have handlers already fired?  Expecting: no.
+        self.assertEqual(started, [])
+
+        parser.Parse(b'', True)
+
+        self.assertEqual(started, ['doc'])
+
+    def test_reparse_deferral_disabled(self):
+        started = []
+
+        def start_element(name, _):
+            started.append(name)
+
+        parser = expat.ParserCreate()
+        parser.StartElementHandler = start_element
+        if expat.version_info >= (2, 6, 0):
+            parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)
+        self.assertFalse(parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        for chunk in (b'<doc', b'/>'):
+            parser.Parse(chunk, False)
+
+        # The key test: Have handlers already fired?  Expecting: yes.
+        self.assertEqual(started, ['doc'])
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()

Lib/test/test_sax.py

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 from io import BytesIO, StringIO
 import codecs
 import os.path
+import pyexpat
 import shutil
 import sys
 from urllib.error import URLError
@@ -1214,6 +1215,56 @@ def test_expat_incremental_reset(self):
 
         self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start + b"<doc>text</doc>")
 
+    def test_flush_reparse_deferral_enabled(self):
+        if pyexpat.version_info < (2, 6, 0):
+            self.skipTest(f'Expat {pyexpat.version_info} does not support reparse deferral')
+
+        result = BytesIO()
+        xmlgen = XMLGenerator(result)
+        parser = create_parser()
+        parser.setContentHandler(xmlgen)
+
+        for chunk in ("<doc", ">"):
+            parser.feed(chunk)
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start)  # i.e. no elements started
+        self.assertTrue(parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.flush()
+
+        self.assertTrue(parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start + b"<doc>")
+
+        parser.feed("</doc>")
+        parser.close()
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start + b"<doc></doc>")
+
+    def test_flush_reparse_deferral_disabled(self):
+        result = BytesIO()
+        xmlgen = XMLGenerator(result)
+        parser = create_parser()
+        parser.setContentHandler(xmlgen)
+
+        for chunk in ("<doc", ">"):
+            parser.feed(chunk)
+
+        if pyexpat.version_info >= (2, 6, 0):
+            parser._parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start)  # i.e. no elements started
+        self.assertFalse(parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.flush()
+
+        self.assertFalse(parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start + b"<doc>")
+
+        parser.feed("</doc>")
+        parser.close()
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.getvalue(), start + b"<doc></doc>")
+
     # ===== Locator support
 
     def test_expat_locator_noinfo(self):

Lib/test/test_xml_etree.py

@@ -121,10 +121,6 @@
 </foo>
 """
 
-fails_with_expat_2_6_0 = (unittest.expectedFailure
-                        if pyexpat.version_info >= (2, 6, 0) else
-                        lambda test: test)
-
 def checkwarnings(*filters, quiet=False):
     def decorator(test):
         def newtest(*args, **kwargs):
@@ -1462,12 +1458,14 @@ def test_attlist_default(self):
 
 class XMLPullParserTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
-    def _feed(self, parser, data, chunk_size=None):
+    def _feed(self, parser, data, chunk_size=None, flush=False):
         if chunk_size is None:
             parser.feed(data)
         else:
             for i in range(0, len(data), chunk_size):
                 parser.feed(data[i:i+chunk_size])
+        if flush:
+            parser.flush()
 
     def assert_events(self, parser, expected, max_events=None):
         self.assertEqual(
@@ -1485,34 +1483,32 @@ def assert_event_tags(self, parser, expected, max_events=None):
         self.assertEqual([(action, elem.tag) for action, elem in events],
                          expected)
 
-    def test_simple_xml(self, chunk_size=None):
+    def test_simple_xml(self, chunk_size=None, flush=False):
         parser = ET.XMLPullParser()
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [])
-        self._feed(parser, "<!-- comment -->\n", chunk_size)
+        self._feed(parser, "<!-- comment -->\n", chunk_size, flush)
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [])
         self._feed(parser,
                    "<root>\n  <element key='value'>text</element",
-                   chunk_size)
+                   chunk_size, flush)
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [])
-        self._feed(parser, ">\n", chunk_size)
+        self._feed(parser, ">\n", chunk_size, flush)
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('end', 'element')])
-        self._feed(parser, "<element>text</element>tail\n", chunk_size)
-        self._feed(parser, "<empty-element/>\n", chunk_size)
+        self._feed(parser, "<element>text</element>tail\n", chunk_size, flush)
+        self._feed(parser, "<empty-element/>\n", chunk_size, flush)
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [
             ('end', 'element'),
             ('end', 'empty-element'),
             ])
-        self._feed(parser, "</root>\n", chunk_size)
+        self._feed(parser, "</root>\n", chunk_size, flush)
         self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('end', 'root')])
         self.assertIsNone(parser.close())
 
-    @fails_with_expat_2_6_0
     def test_simple_xml_chunk_1(self):
-        self.test_simple_xml(chunk_size=1)
+        self.test_simple_xml(chunk_size=1, flush=True)
 
-    @fails_with_expat_2_6_0
     def test_simple_xml_chunk_5(self):
-        self.test_simple_xml(chunk_size=5)
+        self.test_simple_xml(chunk_size=5, flush=True)
 
     def test_simple_xml_chunk_22(self):
         self.test_simple_xml(chunk_size=22)
@@ -1711,6 +1707,57 @@ def test_unknown_event(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
             ET.XMLPullParser(events=('start', 'end', 'bogus'))
 
+    def test_flush_reparse_deferral_enabled(self):
+        if pyexpat.version_info < (2, 6, 0):
+            self.skipTest(f'Expat {pyexpat.version_info} does not '
+                          'support reparse deferral')
+
+        parser = ET.XMLPullParser(events=('start', 'end'))
+
+        for chunk in ("<doc", ">"):
+            parser.feed(chunk)
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [])  # i.e. no elements started
+        if ET is pyET:
+            self.assertTrue(parser._parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.flush()
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('start', 'doc')])
+        if ET is pyET:
+            self.assertTrue(parser._parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.feed("</doc>")
+        parser.close()
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('end', 'doc')])
+
+    def test_flush_reparse_deferral_disabled(self):
+        parser = ET.XMLPullParser(events=('start', 'end'))
+
+        for chunk in ("<doc", ">"):
+            parser.feed(chunk)
+
+        if pyexpat.version_info >= (2, 6, 0):
+            if not ET is pyET:
+                self.skipTest(f'XMLParser.(Get|Set)ReparseDeferralEnabled '
+                              'methods not available in C')
+            parser._parser._parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [])  # i.e. no elements started
+        if ET is pyET:
+            self.assertFalse(parser._parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.flush()
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('start', 'doc')])
+        if ET is pyET:
+            self.assertFalse(parser._parser._parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled())
+
+        parser.feed("</doc>")
+        parser.close()
+
+        self.assert_event_tags(parser, [('end', 'doc')])
 
 #
 # xinclude tests (samples from appendix C of the xinclude specification)

Lib/xml/etree/ElementTree.py

@@ -1320,6 +1320,11 @@ def read_events(self):
             else:
                 yield event
 
+    def flush(self):
+        if self._parser is None:
+            raise ValueError("flush() called after end of stream")
+        self._parser.flush()
+
 
 def XML(text, parser=None):
     """Parse XML document from string constant.
@@ -1726,6 +1731,15 @@ def close(self):
             del self.parser, self._parser
             del self.target, self._target
 
+    def flush(self):
+        was_enabled = self.parser.GetReparseDeferralEnabled()
+        try:
+            self.parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(False)
+            self.parser.Parse(b"", False)
+        except self._error as v:
+            self._raiseerror(v)
+        finally:
+            self.parser.SetReparseDeferralEnabled(was_enabled)
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------
 # C14N 2.0