> Source: [sk184971](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk184971)

# sk184971 - Abnormal Sawtooth Memory Growth in wstlsd on ClusterXL Gateways

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Solution ID | sk184971 |
| Date Created | 2026-05-19 |
| Last Modified | 2026-05-22 |
| Technical Level | General |
| Products | Security Gateway |
| Versions | R82 |

## Symptoms

- * On a Security Gateway, the `wstlsd` userspace process may show abnormal memory growth over time, often presenting as a sawtooth pattern (gradual increase followed by partial drops after restarts or crashes).
* The gateway may experience:   
  * Recurrent `wstlsd` crashes or core dumps.
  * Repeated ASN.1 certificate parsing errors in `$FWDIR/log/wstlsd.elg`, such as:
    * `fwASN_AttributeTypeAndValue::BDecContent ERROR - SEQUENCE is missing non-optional elmt.`  
      `fwASN_RelativeDistinguishedName::BDecContent: attempt to decode content failed`  
      `fwASN_RDNSequence::BDecContent: attempt to decode content failed`  
      `fwASN_TBSCertificate::BDecContent: attempt to decode subject content failed`  
      `fwASN_Certificate::BDecContent: attempt to decode tbsCertificate content failed`  
      `BDecPdu: couldn't decode provided bytes`  
      `fwASN_DecodeBuf: not all the buffer was decoded`

## Cause

This behavior is observed in R82 when `wstlsd` processes X.509 certificates whose Subject Distinguished Name (DN) includes attributes encoded as **NumericStringCID** / **NumericString**.

In this version, a specific certificate encoding condition is not fully supported in the ASN.1 parsing flow used during TLS-related certificate handling. When such certificates are repeatedly processed, decoding failures occur, which can lead to repeated error handling and abnormal wstlsd memory growth over time.

## Solution

[Contact Check Point Support](https://www.checkpoint.com/support-services/contact-support/) to get a Hotfix for this issue.

A Support Engineer will make sure the Hotfix is compatible with your environment before providing it.  
For faster resolution and verification, collect these files:

1. [CPinfo](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk92739) file from the Management Server involved in the case.
2. [CPinfo](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk92739) file from the Security Gateway / each Cluster Member / Security Group involved in the case.

**Hotfix installation instructions:**   
Refer to [sk168597 - How to install a Hotfix](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk168597).

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