Document BSON subtype 0x02, document size checks, and lenient reads

Describe the inner length of binary subtype 0x02 that to_bson now writes and
from_bson checks and removes. Add the document size checks (parse_error.112,
not affected by strict=false) to bson.md and from_bson.md, and extend the
list of lenient reads with the UUID and MD5 payload lengths (not checked),
duplicate keys (last value wins), embedded NUL bytes in strings, and the
ignored trailing bytes with strict=false. State that the members of an object
are written in iteration order.

Correct the statement that element names are never validated on read: they
are checked and sanitized like string values by the error handler. Add the
BSON message to the examples of out_of_range.415 and type_error.321, the
subtype limit of 255 to the binary values page, CBOR to the formats that use
byte_container_with_subtype, and fix a typo in the incomplete mapping box.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann committed 2026-10-26 06:53:06 +01:00
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@@ -80,7 +80,8 @@ Strong guarantee: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes in the JSON va
- Throws [`parse_error.110`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error110) if the given input ends prematurely or
the end of the input was not reached when `strict` was set to true
- Throws [`parse_error.112`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error112) if a parse error occurs (e.g., an
invalid string or byte array length)
invalid string or byte array length, an invalid inner length of a binary value with subtype `0x02`, or a document size
that does not match the content; `strict` does not affect the document size checks)
- Throws [`parse_error.114`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error114) if an unsupported BSON record type is
encountered
- Throws [`parse_error.113`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) if a string value or object key is
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@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ static void to_bson(const basic_json& j, detail::output_adapter<char> o,
```
BSON (Binary JSON) is a binary format in which zero or more ordered key/value pairs are stored as a single entity (a
so-called document).
so-called document). The members of an object are written in the order in which iteration visits them.
1. Returns a byte vector containing the BSON serialization.
2. Writes the BSON serialization to an output adapter.
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ class byte_container_with_subtype : public BinaryType;
```
This type extends the template parameter `BinaryType` provided to [`basic_json`](../basic_json/index.md) with a subtype
used by BSON and MessagePack. This type exists so that the user does not have to specify a type themselves with a
used by BSON, CBOR and MessagePack. This type exists so that the user does not have to specify a type themselves with a
specific naming scheme in order to override the binary type.
## Template parameters
@@ -66,7 +66,12 @@ The library uses the following mapping from JSON values types to BSON types:
!!! warning "Incomplete mapping"
The mapping is **incomplete**, since only JSON-objects (and things contained therein) can be serialized to BSON.
Also, keys may not contain U+0000, since they are serialized a zero-terminated c-strings.
Also, keys may not contain U+0000, since they are serialized as zero-terminated C strings.
!!! info "Order of object members"
The members of an object are written in the order in which iteration visits them: sorted by key for
[`json`](../../api/json.md), in insertion order for [`ordered_json`](../../api/ordered_json.md).
!!! warning "BSON type 0x11 interoperability"
@@ -81,6 +86,18 @@ The library uses the following mapping from JSON values types to BSON types:
As a result, serializing and deserializing a JSON object containing such a value produces a different JSON object,
even though the binary data is unchanged.
!!! info "Binary subtype 0x02 (old binary)"
The BSON specification defines the payload of the "binary (old)" subtype `0x02` as an int32 followed by that many
bytes, so the value is preceded by two lengths: the length of the binary element and, as the first four bytes of
the payload, the number of bytes that follow. A binary value with subtype `2` is therefore written with the outer
length 4 bytes larger than its size and the size as inner length: `binary({1, 2, 3}, 2)` becomes
`07 00 00 00 02 03 00 00 00 01 02 03`. When reading, the inner length is checked and removed, so the value
contains only the bytes that follow it. `from_bson()` throws
[`parse_error.112`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error112) if the outer length is less than 4 or the
inner length is not the outer length minus 4. Versions before 3.13.0 did not write the inner length and returned
it as part of the payload.
??? example "Example: serialize a JSON value to BSON"
```cpp
@@ -135,12 +152,28 @@ The library maps BSON record types to JSON value types as follows:
The BSON reader is lenient in a few areas where the BSON specification is more restrictive:
- array element keys are not checked against the required decimal sequence (`0`, `1`, `2`, ...),
- any non-zero byte is accepted as `true` for the boolean type, and
- the payload for binary subtype `0x02` is returned as-is, including its inner length prefix.
- any non-zero byte is accepted as `true` for the boolean type,
- the payloads of the binary subtypes `0x03` (UUID, old), `0x04` (UUID), and `0x05` (MD5) are not checked to have
16 bytes,
- duplicate keys within a document are accepted; the last value wins (`{"a": 1, "a": 2}` is read as `{"a": 2}`),
while a SAX handler receives every occurrence,
- a `string` value may contain embedded `0x00` bytes, and
- with `strict` set to `false`, bytes after the end of the document are ignored.
If BSON input must be validated for strict specification compliance, validate it separately before passing it to
`from_bson()`.
!!! note "Document size"
Every document starts with its size. `from_bson()` rejects a document with
[`parse_error.112`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error112) if the size is less than 5 (the size prefix and the terminator), if an embedded document does not end before the
end of the document that contains it, if an element does not fit into the declared size, or if the size does not
match the number of bytes read when the terminating `0x00` byte is reached. A size that is too small is detected
before the element that exceeds it is read; a size that is too large only at the terminator, so a SAX handler has
received the content of such a document by then. Passing `strict` as `false` skips only the check for bytes after
the end of the document ([`parse_error.110`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error110)), not the
document size checks.
!!! warning "Ill-formed UTF-8 in string values"
The BSON specification requires `string` values (type `0x02`) to be valid UTF-8, but this is not required of a
@@ -154,8 +187,9 @@ The library maps BSON record types to JSON value types as follows:
ill-formed bytes. `to_bson()`'s own `error_handler` parameter defaults to `keep`, so such a string value or element
(key) name is written unchanged; with `strict` (the default if
[`JSON_STRICT_BINARY_UTF8`](../../api/macros/json_strict_binary_utf8.md) is enabled), it throws the same exception
instead. Element (key) names are never validated on read, since they are read byte-by-byte as a C string. `binary`
values (type `0x05`) are unaffected, since they are not required to hold text.
instead. Element (key) names are treated like string values: with `keep` they are read unchanged, with `strict`,
`replace`, or `ignore` they are checked and handled in the same way. `binary` values (type `0x05`) are unaffected,
since they are not required to hold text.
??? example "Example: deserialize a JSON value from BSON"
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@@ -227,7 +227,10 @@ array of integers.
### BSON
[BSON](binary_formats/bson.md) supports binary values and subtypes. If a subtype is given, it is used and added as an
unsigned 8-bit integer. If no subtype is given, the generic binary subtype 0x00 is used.
unsigned 8-bit integer; a subtype above 255 throws
[`out_of_range.415`](../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionout_of_range415). If no subtype is given, the generic binary
subtype 0x00 is used. The payload of the "old binary" subtype 0x02 is preceded by a second length, which the library
writes and removes again when reading; it is not part of the payload.
??? example "Example: serialize a binary value to BSON"
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@@ -906,13 +906,19 @@ value, or by default-constructing a [`basic_json`](../api/basic_json/index.md) w
[`value_t::discarded`](../api/basic_json/value_t.md)) was passed to a binary serialization function, either directly or
nested in an array or object. There is no way to represent a discarded value in CBOR, MessagePack, UBJSON, BJData, BSON, or BON8.
!!! failure "Example message"
!!! failure "Example messages"
Serializing `#!json [1, 2]` to CBOR, where the second element was discarded by a parser callback:
```
[json.exception.type_error.321] cannot serialize discarded value to CBOR
```
Serializing an object with a discarded member to BSON (a discarded value at the top level is reported as
[`type_error.317`](#jsonexceptiontype_error317) instead, since BSON requires an object there):
```
[json.exception.type_error.321] cannot serialize discarded value to BSON
```
## Out of range
This exception is thrown in case a library function is called on an input parameter that exceeds the expected range, for instance, in the case of array indices or nonexisting object keys.
@@ -1155,12 +1161,16 @@ A JSON Patch `move` operation's `"from"` location is a proper prefix of its `"pa
MessagePack's ext type and BSON's binary subtype are each stored in a single byte. This exception is thrown when serializing a
[`byte_container_with_subtype`](../api/byte_container_with_subtype/index.md) whose subtype exceeds 255, the largest value the library can store in that byte.
!!! failure "Example message"
!!! failure "Example messages"
```
[json.exception.out_of_range.415] subtype 70000 is too large for the MessagePack ext type (max 255)
```
```
[json.exception.out_of_range.415] subtype 70000 is too large for the BSON binary subtype (max 255)
```
!!! note
This exception was added in version 3.13.0. Before that, subtypes above 255 were silently truncated modulo 256 instead of raising an error.