diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/bif.c b/src/libAtomVM/bif.c
index 8b2334759..46e37b5d6 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/bif.c
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/bif.c
@@ -806,6 +806,7 @@ term bif_erlang_sub_2(Context *ctx, uint32_t fail_label, int live, term arg1, te
     }
 }
 
+// this function assumes that bigres_len is always <= bigres buffer capacity
 static term make_bigint(Context *ctx, uint32_t fail_label, uint32_t live,
     const intn_digit_t bigres[], size_t bigres_len, intn_integer_sign_t sign)
 {
@@ -1716,6 +1717,10 @@ term bif_erlang_bsl_2(Context *ctx, uint32_t fail_label, int live, term arg1, te
 
         intn_digit_t bigres[INTN_MAX_RES_LEN];
         size_t bigres_len = intn_bsl(m, m_len, b, bigres);
+        // this check is required in order to avoid out-of-bounds read in make_bigint
+        if (UNLIKELY(bigres_len > INTN_MAX_RES_LEN)) {
+            RAISE_ERROR_BIF(fail_label, OVERFLOW_ATOM);
+        }
 
         return make_bigint(ctx, fail_label, live, bigres, bigres_len, m_sign);
 
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/externalterm.c b/src/libAtomVM/externalterm.c
index b1bb45129..cbbf2b30a 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/externalterm.c
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/externalterm.c
@@ -1011,9 +1011,10 @@ static int calculate_heap_usage(const uint8_t *external_term_buf, size_t remaini
             }
 
             // num_bytes > 8 bytes || uint64_does_overflow_int64
+            size_t required_digits = intn_required_digits_for_unsigned_integer(num_bytes);
             size_t data_size;
             size_t unused_rounded_len;
-            term_intn_to_term_size(num_bytes, &data_size, &unused_rounded_len);
+            term_intn_to_term_size(required_digits, &data_size, &unused_rounded_len);
             return BOXED_INTN_SIZE(data_size);
         }
 
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/intn.c b/src/libAtomVM/intn.c
index 11c395623..ff58f2cc7 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/intn.c
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/intn.c
@@ -61,11 +61,6 @@ static inline size_t pad_uint16_to_digits(uint16_t n16[], size_t n16_len)
     return n16_len;
 }
 
-static inline size_t size_round_to(size_t n, size_t round_to)
-{
-    return (n + (round_to - 1)) & ~(round_to - 1);
-}
-
 /*
  * Multiplication
  */
@@ -439,18 +434,19 @@ size_t intn_divmnu(const intn_digit_t m[], size_t m_len, const intn_digit_t n[],
     return padded_q_len / UINT16_IN_A_DIGIT;
 }
 
-// This function assumes no leading zeros (lenght is used in comparison)
-// Caller must ensure this precondition
 int intn_cmp(const intn_digit_t a[], size_t a_len, const intn_digit_t b[], size_t b_len)
 {
-    if (a_len > b_len) {
+    size_t normal_a_len = intn_count_digits(a, a_len);
+    size_t normal_b_len = intn_count_digits(b, b_len);
+
+    if (normal_a_len > normal_b_len) {
         return 1;
     }
-    if (a_len < b_len) {
+    if (normal_a_len < normal_b_len) {
         return -1;
     }
 
-    for (size_t i = a_len; i > 0; i--) {
+    for (size_t i = normal_a_len; i > 0; i--) {
         if (a[i - 1] > b[i - 1]) {
             return 1;
         }
@@ -791,23 +787,21 @@ size_t intn_bnot(const intn_digit_t m[], size_t m_len, intn_integer_sign_t m_sig
 
 size_t intn_bsl(const intn_digit_t num[], size_t len, size_t n, intn_digit_t *out)
 {
-    size_t digit_bit_size = sizeof(uint32_t) * 8;
-
     size_t digit_left_bit_shift = n % 32;
     size_t right_shift_n = (32 - digit_left_bit_shift);
 
     size_t counted_digits = intn_count_digits(num, len);
     size_t ms_digit_bits = 32 - uint32_nlz(num[counted_digits - 1]);
-    size_t effective_bits_len = (counted_digits - 1) * digit_bit_size + ms_digit_bits;
-    size_t new_bits_len = size_round_to(effective_bits_len + n, digit_bit_size);
+    size_t effective_bits_len = (counted_digits - 1) * INTN_DIGIT_BITS + ms_digit_bits;
+    size_t new_bits_len = size_align_up_pow2(effective_bits_len + n, INTN_DIGIT_BITS);
 
-    size_t new_digits_count = new_bits_len / digit_bit_size;
+    size_t new_digits_count = new_bits_len / INTN_DIGIT_BITS;
 
     if (new_digits_count > INTN_BSL_MAX_RES_LEN) {
         return new_digits_count;
     }
 
-    size_t initial_zeros = MIN(n / digit_bit_size, INTN_BSL_MAX_RES_LEN);
+    size_t initial_zeros = MIN(n / INTN_DIGIT_BITS, INTN_BSL_MAX_RES_LEN);
     memset(out, 0, initial_zeros * sizeof(uint32_t));
 
     if (right_shift_n == 32) {
@@ -837,15 +831,14 @@ size_t intn_bsl(const intn_digit_t num[], size_t len, size_t n, intn_digit_t *ou
 void bsru(
     const uint32_t num[], size_t effective_bits_len, size_t n, uint32_t last_digit, uint32_t *out)
 {
-    size_t digit_bit_size = sizeof(uint32_t) * 8; // 32
-
-    size_t digit_right_bit_shift = n % digit_bit_size;
-    size_t left_shift_n = (digit_bit_size - digit_right_bit_shift);
+    size_t digit_right_bit_shift = n % INTN_DIGIT_BITS;
+    size_t left_shift_n = (INTN_DIGIT_BITS - digit_right_bit_shift);
 
-    size_t len_in_digits = size_round_to(effective_bits_len, digit_bit_size) / digit_bit_size;
+    size_t len_in_digits
+        = size_align_up_pow2(effective_bits_len, INTN_DIGIT_BITS) / INTN_DIGIT_BITS;
 
     // caller makes sure that discarded < len_in_digits
-    size_t discarded = n / digit_bit_size;
+    size_t discarded = n / INTN_DIGIT_BITS;
 
     if (left_shift_n == 32) {
         memcpy(out, num + discarded, (len_in_digits - discarded) * sizeof(uint32_t));
@@ -868,17 +861,17 @@ void bsru(
 size_t intn_bsr(
     const intn_digit_t num[], size_t len, intn_integer_sign_t num_sign, size_t n, intn_digit_t *out)
 {
-    size_t digit_bit_size = sizeof(uint32_t) * 8;
     size_t counted_digits = intn_count_digits(num, len);
     size_t ms_digit_bits = 32 - uint32_nlz(num[counted_digits - 1]);
-    size_t effective_bits_len = (counted_digits - 1) * digit_bit_size + ms_digit_bits;
+    size_t effective_bits_len = (counted_digits - 1) * INTN_DIGIT_BITS + ms_digit_bits;
 
     if (n >= effective_bits_len) {
         out[0] = (num_sign == IntNPositiveInteger) ? 0 : 1;
         return 1;
     }
 
-    size_t shifted_len = size_round_to(effective_bits_len - n, digit_bit_size) / digit_bit_size;
+    size_t shifted_len
+        = size_align_up_pow2(effective_bits_len - n, INTN_DIGIT_BITS) / INTN_DIGIT_BITS;
 
     if (num_sign == IntNPositiveInteger) {
         bsru(num, effective_bits_len, n, 0, out);
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/intn.h b/src/libAtomVM/intn.h
index 1722342d2..34c0a73e1 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/intn.h
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/intn.h
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@
 #define INTN_DIV_OUT_LEN(m, n) ((m) - (n) + 1 + 1)
 #define INTN_ABS_OUT_LEN(m) ((m) + 1)
 
+#define INTN_DIGIT_BITS 32
 #define INTN_MAX_UNSIGNED_BYTES_SIZE 32
 #define INTN_MAX_UNSIGNED_BITS_SIZE 256
 
@@ -160,6 +161,11 @@ int intn_to_integer_bytes(const intn_digit_t in[], size_t in_len, intn_integer_s
 
 size_t intn_required_unsigned_integer_bytes(const intn_digit_t in[], size_t in_len);
 
+static inline size_t intn_required_digits_for_unsigned_integer(size_t size_in_bytes)
+{
+    return size_align_up_pow2(size_in_bytes, sizeof(intn_digit_t)) / sizeof(intn_digit_t);
+}
+
 static inline intn_integer_sign_t intn_negate_sign(intn_integer_sign_t sign)
 {
     return (sign == IntNPositiveInteger) ? IntNNegativeInteger : IntNPositiveInteger;
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/utils.h b/src/libAtomVM/utils.h
index 0265f3e04..d81b0d1cb 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/utils.h
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/utils.h
@@ -359,6 +359,96 @@ static inline __attribute__((always_inline)) func_ptr_t cast_void_to_func_ptr(vo
 #define MAXI(A, B) ((A > B) ? (A) : (B))
 #define MINI(A, B) ((A > B) ? (B) : (A))
 
+/**
+ * @brief Align size up to power-of-2 boundary
+ *
+ * Rounds up a size value to the next multiple of a power-of-2 alignment.
+ * This function uses bit manipulation for efficient alignment calculation
+ * and is faster than the general-purpose \c size_align_up().
+ *
+ * @param n Size value to align
+ * @param align Power-of-2 alignment boundary
+ * @return Size rounded up to next multiple of align
+ *
+ * @pre align must be a power of 2 (e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, ...)
+ * @warning Undefined behavior if align is not a power of 2
+ * @warning Undefined behavior if align is 0
+ *
+ * @note Result is always >= n
+ *
+ * @code
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_up_pow2(17, 8);  // Returns 24
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_up_pow2(16, 8);  // Returns 16 (already aligned)
+ * @endcode
+ *
+ * @see size_align_up() for arbitrary alignment values
+ */
+static inline size_t size_align_up_pow2(size_t n, size_t align)
+{
+    return (n + (align - 1)) & ~(align - 1);
+}
+
+/**
+ * @brief Align size up to arbitrary boundary
+ *
+ * Rounds up a size value to the next multiple of an alignment boundary.
+ * Works with any alignment value, not just powers of 2.
+ *
+ * @param n Size value to align
+ * @param align Alignment boundary (any positive value, or 0)
+ * @return Size rounded up to next multiple of align, or n if align is 0
+ *
+ * @note Returns n unchanged if align is 0 (no alignment)
+ * @note Result is always >= n
+ * @note For power-of-2 alignments, \c size_align_up_pow2() is more efficient
+ *
+ * @code
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_up(17, 10);  // Returns 20
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_up(20, 10);  // Returns 20 (already aligned)
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_up(17, 0);   // Returns 17 (no alignment)
+ * @endcode
+ *
+ * @see size_align_up_pow2() for optimized power-of-2 alignment
+ * @see size_align_down() for rounding down instead of up
+ */
+static inline size_t size_align_up(size_t n, size_t align)
+{
+    if (align == 0) {
+        return n;
+    }
+    return ((n + align - 1) / align) * align;
+}
+
+/**
+ * @brief Align size down to arbitrary boundary
+ *
+ * Rounds down a size value to the previous multiple of an alignment boundary.
+ * Works with any alignment value, not just powers of 2.
+ *
+ * @param n Size value to align
+ * @param align Alignment boundary (any positive value, or 0)
+ * @return Size rounded down to previous multiple of align, or n if align is 0
+ *
+ * @note Returns n unchanged if align is 0 (no alignment)
+ * @note Result is always <= n
+ * @note Commonly used for finding aligned base addresses within buffers
+ *
+ * @code
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_down(17, 10);  // Returns 10
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_down(20, 10);  // Returns 20 (already aligned)
+ * size_t aligned = size_align_down(7, 10);   // Returns 0
+ * @endcode
+ *
+ * @see size_align_up() for rounding up instead of down
+ */
+static inline size_t size_align_down(size_t n, size_t align)
+{
+    if (align == 0) {
+        return n;
+    }
+    return (n / align) * align;
+}
+
 /**
  * @brief Negate unsigned 32-bit value (\c uint32_t) to signed integer (\c int32_t)
  *