diff --git a/src/decode/decode.test.ts b/src/decode/decode.test.ts
index 11b4325..fe765f7 100644
--- a/src/decode/decode.test.ts
+++ b/src/decode/decode.test.ts
@@ -603,6 +603,46 @@ describe("decode", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("throws for out-of-bounds GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING variable indices in strict mode", () => {
+    const encoder = new ItemEncoder();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_START, 0, 0).finishItem();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING, 1_000_000)
+      .finishItem();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_END, 0).finishItem();
+    const map = createMap({ ranges: encoder.encode() });
+
+    assertThrows(
+      () => decode(map, { mode: DecodeMode.STRICT }),
+      Error,
+      "GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING variable index out of bounds",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("ignores out-of-bounds GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING variable indices in lax mode", () => {
+    const encoder = new ItemEncoder();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_START, 0, 0).finishItem();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING, 1_000_000)
+      .finishItem();
+    encoder.addUnsignedVLQs(Tag.GENERATED_RANGE_END, 0).finishItem();
+    const map = createMap({ ranges: encoder.encode() });
+
+    const info = decode(map, { mode: DecodeMode.LAX });
+
+    assertExists(info.ranges[0]);
+    assertEquals(info.ranges[0].values, []);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores huge GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING variable indices without hanging", () => {
+    // "H//////B" encodes variable index 2^31 - 1. This used to create a sparse
+    // `values` array of length 2^31 and iterate every hole.
+    const map = createMap({ ranges: "EAA,H//////B,FA" });
+
+    const info = decode(map, { mode: DecodeMode.LAX });
+
+    assertExists(info.ranges[0]);
+    assertEquals(info.ranges[0].values, []);
+  });
+
   it("ignores multiple GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING items for the same variable in lax mode", () => {
     const scopeEncoder = new ItemEncoder();
     // Original scope with 1 variable.
diff --git a/src/decode/decode.ts b/src/decode/decode.ts
index e0e5d60..c839a33 100644
--- a/src/decode/decode.ts
+++ b/src/decode/decode.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import { TokenIterator } from "../vlq.ts";
  *   - Encountering ORIGINAL_SCOPE_VARIABLES items outside a surrounding scope START/END.
  *   - Encountering GENERATED_RANGE_BINDINGS items outside a surrounding range START/END.
  *   - Miss-matches between the number of variables in a scope vs the number of value expressions in the ranges.
+ *   - GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING items whose variable index is out of bounds of the range's bindings.
  *   - Out-of-bound indices into the "names" array.
  */
 export const enum DecodeMode {
@@ -622,6 +623,16 @@ class Decoder {
     if (!subRangeBindings) return;
 
     for (const [variableIndex, bindings] of subRangeBindings) {
+      // Sub-range bindings can only refine an existing binding from the
+      // GENERATED_RANGE_BINDINGS item. Writing to an arbitrary (attacker
+      // controlled) index would turn `range.values` into a huge sparse array.
+      if (variableIndex < 0 || variableIndex >= range.values.length) {
+        this.#throwInStrictMode(
+          "GENERATED_RANGE_SUBRANGE_BINDING variable index out of bounds",
+        );
+        continue;
+      }
+
       const value = range.values[variableIndex];
       const subRanges: SubRangeBinding[] = [];
       range.values[variableIndex] = subRanges;