diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yaml b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
index 365ae6f..ce1a346 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
           sudo apt-get install libpcre3 libpcre3-dev libzstd-dev ninja-build
       - name: Install cppcheck
         run: |
-          git clone https://github.com/danmar/cppcheck.git --branch 2.14.1
+          git clone https://github.com/danmar/cppcheck.git --branch 2.17.1
           cd cppcheck
           cmake -S. -B build \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 27868cb..73944a7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.34.2 - 2025-05-06
+
+#### Bug fixes
+- Fixed potential for unaligned records in live and historical streaming requests
+
 ## 0.34.1 - 2025-04-29
 
 ### Enhancements
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 2056216..db048cc 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.24..4.0)
 
 project(
   databento
-  VERSION 0.34.1
+  VERSION 0.34.2
   LANGUAGES CXX
   DESCRIPTION "Official Databento client library"
 )
diff --git a/include/databento/dbn_decoder.hpp b/include/databento/dbn_decoder.hpp
index 960f793..dd56a89 100644
--- a/include/databento/dbn_decoder.hpp
+++ b/include/databento/dbn_decoder.hpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <string>
 
 #include "databento/dbn.hpp"
+#include "databento/detail/buffer.hpp"
 #include "databento/enums.hpp"  // Upgrade Policy
 #include "databento/file_stream.hpp"
 #include "databento/ireadable.hpp"
@@ -54,7 +55,6 @@ class DbnDecoder {
                                            const std::byte* buffer_end);
   bool DetectCompression();
   std::size_t FillBuffer();
-  std::size_t GetReadBufferSize() const;
   RecordHeader* BufferRecordHeader();
 
   ILogReceiver* log_receiver_;
@@ -62,8 +62,7 @@ class DbnDecoder {
   VersionUpgradePolicy upgrade_policy_;
   bool ts_out_{};
   std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input_;
-  std::vector<std::byte> read_buffer_;
-  std::size_t buffer_idx_{};
+  detail::Buffer buffer_{};
   // Must be 8-byte aligned for records
   alignas(RecordHeader) std::array<std::byte, kMaxRecordLen> compat_buffer_{};
   Record current_record_{nullptr};
diff --git a/include/databento/detail/buffer.hpp b/include/databento/detail/buffer.hpp
index c82cb21..47fa725 100644
--- a/include/databento/detail/buffer.hpp
+++ b/include/databento/detail/buffer.hpp
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <memory>
+#include <new>
 
 #include "databento/ireadable.hpp"
 #include "databento/iwritable.hpp"
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@ class Buffer : public IReadable, public IWritable {
  public:
   Buffer() : Buffer(64 * std::size_t{1 << 10}) {}
   explicit Buffer(std::size_t init_capacity)
-      : buf_{std::make_unique<std::byte[]>(init_capacity)},
+      : buf_{AlignedNew(init_capacity), AlignedDelete},
         end_{buf_.get() + init_capacity},
         read_pos_{buf_.get()},
         write_pos_{buf_.get()} {}
@@ -22,7 +23,9 @@ class Buffer : public IReadable, public IWritable {
   void WriteAll(const std::byte* data, std::size_t length) override;
 
   std::byte*& WriteBegin() { return write_pos_; }
-  std::byte* WriteEnd() const { return end_; }
+  std::byte* WriteEnd() { return end_; }
+  const std::byte* WriteBegin() const { return write_pos_; }
+  const std::byte* WriteEnd() const { return end_; }
   std::size_t WriteCapacity() const {
     return static_cast<std::size_t>(end_ - write_pos_);
   }
@@ -32,7 +35,9 @@ class Buffer : public IReadable, public IWritable {
   std::size_t ReadSome(std::byte* buffer, std::size_t max_length) override;
 
   std::byte*& ReadBegin() { return read_pos_; }
-  std::byte* ReadEnd() const { return write_pos_; }
+  std::byte* ReadEnd() { return write_pos_; }
+  const std::byte* ReadBegin() const { return read_pos_; }
+  const std::byte* ReadEnd() const { return write_pos_; }
   std::size_t ReadCapacity() const {
     return static_cast<std::size_t>(write_pos_ - read_pos_);
   }
@@ -48,7 +53,19 @@ class Buffer : public IReadable, public IWritable {
   void Shift();
 
  private:
-  std::unique_ptr<std::byte[]> buf_;
+  static constexpr std::align_val_t kAlignment{8};
+
+  using UniqueBufPtr = std::unique_ptr<std::byte[], void (*)(std::byte*)>;
+
+  std::byte* AlignedNew(std::size_t capacity) {
+    // Can't use `new` expression due to MSVC bug
+    // See
+    // https://developercommunity.visualstudio.com/t/using-c17-new-stdalign-val-tn-syntax-results-in-er/528320
+    return static_cast<std::byte*>(operator new[](capacity, kAlignment));
+  }
+  static void AlignedDelete(std::byte* p) { operator delete[](p, kAlignment); }
+
+  UniqueBufPtr buf_;
   std::byte* end_;
   std::byte* read_pos_{};
   std::byte* write_pos_{};
diff --git a/include/databento/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.hpp b/include/databento/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.hpp
index a8f8a65..4e1cba4 100644
--- a/include/databento/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.hpp
+++ b/include/databento/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.hpp
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 
 #include "databento/detail/buffer.hpp"
 #include "databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp"
-#include "databento/ireadable.hpp"
 #include "databento/record.hpp"
 #include "databento/timeseries.hpp"
 
@@ -18,7 +17,8 @@ class DbnBufferDecoder {
                    const RecordCallback& record_callback)
       : metadata_callback_{metadata_callback},
         record_callback_{record_callback},
-        zstd_stream_{InitZstdBuffer()} {}
+        zstd_stream_{std::make_unique<Buffer>()},
+        zstd_buffer_{static_cast<Buffer*>(zstd_stream_.Input())} {}
 
   KeepGoing Process(const char* data, std::size_t length);
 
@@ -29,12 +29,6 @@ class DbnBufferDecoder {
     Records,
   };
 
-  std::unique_ptr<IReadable> InitZstdBuffer() {
-    auto zstd_buffer = std::make_unique<Buffer>();
-    zstd_buffer_ = zstd_buffer.get();
-    return zstd_buffer;
-  }
-
   const MetadataCallback& metadata_callback_;
   const RecordCallback& record_callback_;
   ZstdDecodeStream zstd_stream_;
@@ -43,7 +37,7 @@ class DbnBufferDecoder {
   std::size_t bytes_needed_{};
   alignas(RecordHeader) std::array<std::byte, kMaxRecordLen> compat_buffer_{};
   std::uint8_t input_version_{};
-  bool ts_out_;
+  bool ts_out_{};
   DecoderState state_{DecoderState::Init};
 };
 }  // namespace databento::detail
diff --git a/include/databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp b/include/databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp
index 56da12b..0fff739 100644
--- a/include/databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp
+++ b/include/databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <memory>   // unique_ptr
 #include <vector>
 
+#include "databento/detail/buffer.hpp"
 #include "databento/ireadable.hpp"
 #include "databento/iwritable.hpp"
 #include "databento/log.hpp"
@@ -14,8 +15,7 @@ namespace databento::detail {
 class ZstdDecodeStream : public IReadable {
  public:
   explicit ZstdDecodeStream(std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input);
-  ZstdDecodeStream(std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input,
-                   std::vector<std::byte>&& in_buffer);
+  ZstdDecodeStream(std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input, detail::Buffer& in_buffer);
 
   // Read exactly `length` bytes into `buffer`.
   void ReadExact(std::byte* buffer, std::size_t length) override;
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ class ZstdDecodeStream : public IReadable {
   // return 0 if the end of the stream is reached.
   std::size_t ReadSome(std::byte* buffer, std::size_t max_length) override;
 
+  IReadable* Input() const { return input_.get(); }
+
  private:
   std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input_;
   std::unique_ptr<ZSTD_DStream, std::size_t (*)(ZSTD_DStream*)> z_dstream_;
diff --git a/pkg/PKGBUILD b/pkg/PKGBUILD
index bd4bb75..38dd21c 100644
--- a/pkg/PKGBUILD
+++ b/pkg/PKGBUILD
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Maintainer: Databento <support@databento.com>
 _pkgname=databento-cpp
 pkgname=databento-cpp-git
-pkgver=0.34.1
+pkgver=0.34.2
 pkgrel=1
 pkgdesc="Official C++ client for Databento"
 arch=('any')
diff --git a/src/dbn_constants.hpp b/src/dbn_constants.hpp
index 9908953..059d73d 100644
--- a/src/dbn_constants.hpp
+++ b/src/dbn_constants.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ constexpr std::size_t kFixedMetadataLen = 100;
 constexpr std::size_t kDatasetCstrLen = 16;
 constexpr std::size_t kMetadataReservedLen = 53;
 constexpr std::size_t kMetadataReservedLenV1 = 47;
-constexpr std::size_t kBufferCapacity = 8UL * 1024;
 constexpr std::uint16_t kNullSchema = std::numeric_limits<std::uint16_t>::max();
 constexpr std::uint8_t kNullSType = std::numeric_limits<std::uint8_t>::max();
 constexpr std::uint64_t kNullRecordCount =
diff --git a/src/dbn_decoder.cpp b/src/dbn_decoder.cpp
index b4570d5..b5ef248 100644
--- a/src/dbn_decoder.cpp
+++ b/src/dbn_decoder.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "databento/compat.hpp"
 #include "databento/constants.hpp"
 #include "databento/datetime.hpp"
+#include "databento/detail/buffer.hpp"
 #include "databento/detail/zstd_stream.hpp"
 #include "databento/enums.hpp"
 #include "databento/exceptions.hpp"
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ using databento::DbnDecoder;
 namespace {
 template <typename T>
 T Consume(const std::byte*& buf) {
-  const auto res = *reinterpret_cast<const T*>(&*buf);
+  const auto res = *reinterpret_cast<const T*>(buf);
   buf += sizeof(T);
   return res;
 }
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ std::uint8_t Consume(const std::byte*& buf) {
 }
 
 const char* Consume(const std::byte*& buf, const std::ptrdiff_t num_bytes) {
-  const auto* pos = &*buf;
+  const auto* pos = buf;
   buf += num_bytes;
   return reinterpret_cast<const char*>(pos);
 }
@@ -76,16 +77,12 @@ DbnDecoder::DbnDecoder(ILogReceiver* log_receiver,
     : log_receiver_{log_receiver},
       upgrade_policy_{upgrade_policy},
       input_{std::move(input)} {
-  read_buffer_.reserve(kBufferCapacity);
   if (DetectCompression()) {
-    input_ = std::make_unique<detail::ZstdDecodeStream>(
-        std::move(input_), std::move(read_buffer_));
-    // Reinitialize buffer and get it into the same state as uncompressed input
-    read_buffer_ = std::vector<std::byte>();
-    read_buffer_.reserve(kBufferCapacity);
-    read_buffer_.resize(kMagicSize);
-    input_->ReadExact(read_buffer_.data(), kMagicSize);
-    const auto* buf_ptr = read_buffer_.data();
+    input_ =
+        std::make_unique<detail::ZstdDecodeStream>(std::move(input_), buffer_);
+    input_->ReadExact(buffer_.WriteBegin(), kMagicSize);
+    buffer_.WriteBegin() += kMagicSize;
+    const auto* buf_ptr = buffer_.ReadBegin();
     if (std::strncmp(Consume(buf_ptr, 3), kDbnPrefix, 3) != 0) {
       throw DbnResponseError{"Found Zstd input, but not DBN prefix"};
     }
@@ -181,16 +178,22 @@ databento::Metadata DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadataFields(
 
 databento::Metadata DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadata() {
   // already read first 4 bytes detecting compression
-  read_buffer_.resize(kMetadataPreludeSize);
-  input_->ReadExact(&read_buffer_[4], 4);
+  const auto read_size = kMetadataPreludeSize - kMagicSize;
+  input_->ReadExact(buffer_.WriteBegin(), read_size);
+  buffer_.WriteBegin() += read_size;
   const auto [version, size] = DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadataVersionAndSize(
-      read_buffer_.data(), kMetadataPreludeSize);
+      buffer_.ReadBegin(), kMetadataPreludeSize);
+  buffer_.ReadBegin() += kMetadataPreludeSize;
   version_ = version;
-  read_buffer_.resize(size);
-  input_->ReadExact(read_buffer_.data(), read_buffer_.size());
-  buffer_idx_ = read_buffer_.size();
+  buffer_.Reserve(size);
+  input_->ReadExact(buffer_.WriteBegin(), size);
+  buffer_.WriteBegin() += size;
   auto metadata = DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadataFields(
-      version_, read_buffer_.data(), read_buffer_.data() + read_buffer_.size());
+      version_, buffer_.ReadBegin(), buffer_.ReadEnd());
+  buffer_.ReadBegin() += size;
+  // Metadata may leave buffer misaligned. Shift records to ensure 8-byte
+  // alignment
+  buffer_.Shift();
   ts_out_ = metadata.ts_out;
   metadata.Upgrade(upgrade_policy_);
   return metadata;
@@ -239,60 +242,53 @@ databento::Record DbnDecoder::DecodeRecordCompat(
 // assumes DecodeMetadata has been called
 const databento::Record* DbnDecoder::DecodeRecord() {
   // need some unread unread_bytes
-  if (GetReadBufferSize() == 0) {
+  if (buffer_.ReadCapacity() == 0) {
     if (FillBuffer() == 0) {
       return nullptr;
     }
   }
   // check length
-  while (GetReadBufferSize() < BufferRecordHeader()->Size()) {
+  while (buffer_.ReadCapacity() < BufferRecordHeader()->Size()) {
     if (FillBuffer() == 0) {
-      if (GetReadBufferSize() > 0) {
+      if (buffer_.ReadCapacity() > 0) {
         log_receiver_->Receive(
             LogLevel::Warning,
             "Unexpected partial record remaining in stream: " +
-                std::to_string(GetReadBufferSize()) + " bytes");
+                std::to_string(buffer_.ReadCapacity()) + " bytes");
       }
       return nullptr;
     }
   }
   current_record_ = Record{BufferRecordHeader()};
-  buffer_idx_ += current_record_.Size();
+  buffer_.ReadBegin() += current_record_.Size();
   current_record_ = DbnDecoder::DecodeRecordCompat(
       version_, upgrade_policy_, ts_out_, &compat_buffer_, current_record_);
   return &current_record_;
 }
 
 size_t DbnDecoder::FillBuffer() {
-  // Shift data forward
-  std::copy(read_buffer_.cbegin() + static_cast<std::ptrdiff_t>(buffer_idx_),
-            read_buffer_.cend(), read_buffer_.begin());
-  const auto unread_size = read_buffer_.size() - buffer_idx_;
-  buffer_idx_ = 0;
-  read_buffer_.resize(kBufferCapacity);
-  const auto fill_size = input_->ReadSome(&read_buffer_[unread_size],
-                                          kBufferCapacity - unread_size);
-  read_buffer_.resize(unread_size + fill_size);
+  if (buffer_.WriteCapacity() < kMaxRecordLen) {
+    buffer_.Shift();
+  }
+  const auto fill_size =
+      input_->ReadSome(buffer_.WriteBegin(), buffer_.WriteCapacity());
+  buffer_.WriteBegin() += fill_size;
   return fill_size;
 }
 
-std::size_t DbnDecoder::GetReadBufferSize() const {
-  return read_buffer_.size() - buffer_idx_;
-}
-
 databento::RecordHeader* DbnDecoder::BufferRecordHeader() {
-  return reinterpret_cast<RecordHeader*>(&read_buffer_[buffer_idx_]);
+  return reinterpret_cast<RecordHeader*>(buffer_.ReadBegin());
 }
 
 bool DbnDecoder::DetectCompression() {
-  read_buffer_.resize(kMagicSize);
-  input_->ReadExact(read_buffer_.data(), kMagicSize);
-  const auto* read_buffer_it = read_buffer_.data();
-  if (std::strncmp(Consume(read_buffer_it, 3), kDbnPrefix, 3) == 0) {
+  input_->ReadExact(buffer_.WriteBegin(), kMagicSize);
+  buffer_.WriteBegin() += kMagicSize;
+  const auto* buffer_it = buffer_.ReadBegin();
+  if (std::strncmp(Consume(buffer_it, 3), kDbnPrefix, 3) == 0) {
     return false;
   }
-  read_buffer_it = read_buffer_.data();
-  auto x = Consume<std::uint32_t>(read_buffer_it);
+  buffer_it = buffer_.ReadBegin();
+  auto x = Consume<std::uint32_t>(buffer_it);
   if (x == kZstdMagicNumber) {
     return true;
   }
@@ -302,12 +298,10 @@ bool DbnDecoder::DetectCompression() {
   if ((x & kZstdSkippableFrame) == kZstdSkippableFrame) {
     throw DbnResponseError{
         "Legacy DBZ encoding is not supported. Please use the dbn CLI tool "
-        "to "
-        "convert it to DBN."};
+        "to convert it to DBN."};
   }
   throw DbnResponseError{
-      "Couldn't detect input type. It doesn't appear to be Zstd or "
-      "DBN."};
+      "Couldn't detect input type. It doesn't appear to be Zstd or DBN."};
 }
 
 std::string DbnDecoder::DecodeSymbol(std::size_t symbol_cstr_len,
diff --git a/src/detail/buffer.cpp b/src/detail/buffer.cpp
index a14c04c..7822fd4 100644
--- a/src/detail/buffer.cpp
+++ b/src/detail/buffer.cpp
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ void Buffer::Reserve(std::size_t capacity) {
   if (capacity <= Capacity()) {
     return;
   }
-  auto new_buf = std::make_unique<std::byte[]>(capacity);
+  UniqueBufPtr new_buf{AlignedNew(capacity), AlignedDelete};
   const auto unread_bytes = ReadCapacity();
   std::copy(ReadBegin(), ReadEnd(), new_buf.get());
   buf_ = std::move(new_buf);
diff --git a/src/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.cpp b/src/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.cpp
index 7b31d42..2bb95e2 100644
--- a/src/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.cpp
+++ b/src/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ databento::KeepGoing DbnBufferDecoder::Process(const char* data,
       auto metadata = DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadataFields(
           input_version_, dbn_buffer_.ReadBegin(), dbn_buffer_.ReadEnd());
       dbn_buffer_.ReadBegin() += bytes_needed_;
+      // Metadata may leave buffer misaligned. Shift records to ensure 8-byte
+      // alignment
+      dbn_buffer_.Shift();
       ts_out_ = metadata.ts_out;
       metadata.Upgrade(VersionUpgradePolicy::UpgradeToV2);
       if (metadata_callback_) {
diff --git a/src/detail/zstd_stream.cpp b/src/detail/zstd_stream.cpp
index 234ad52..c521379 100644
--- a/src/detail/zstd_stream.cpp
+++ b/src/detail/zstd_stream.cpp
@@ -4,21 +4,28 @@
 #include <sstream>
 #include <utility>  // move
 
+#include "databento/detail/buffer.hpp"
 #include "databento/exceptions.hpp"
 #include "databento/log.hpp"
 
 using databento::detail::ZstdDecodeStream;
 
 ZstdDecodeStream::ZstdDecodeStream(std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input)
-    : ZstdDecodeStream{std::move(input), {}} {}
+    : input_{std::move(input)},
+      z_dstream_{::ZSTD_createDStream(), ::ZSTD_freeDStream},
+      read_suggestion_{::ZSTD_initDStream(z_dstream_.get())},
+      in_buffer_{},
+      z_in_buffer_{in_buffer_.data(), 0, 0} {}
 
 ZstdDecodeStream::ZstdDecodeStream(std::unique_ptr<IReadable> input,
-                                   std::vector<std::byte>&& in_buffer)
+                                   detail::Buffer& in_buffer)
     : input_{std::move(input)},
       z_dstream_{::ZSTD_createDStream(), ::ZSTD_freeDStream},
       read_suggestion_{::ZSTD_initDStream(z_dstream_.get())},
-      in_buffer_{std::move(in_buffer)},
-      z_in_buffer_{in_buffer_.data(), in_buffer_.size(), 0} {}
+      in_buffer_{in_buffer.ReadBegin(), in_buffer.ReadEnd()},
+      z_in_buffer_{in_buffer_.data(), in_buffer_.size(), 0} {
+  in_buffer.ReadBegin() += in_buffer.ReadCapacity();
+}
 
 void ZstdDecodeStream::ReadExact(std::byte* buffer, std::size_t length) {
   std::size_t size{};
diff --git a/src/historical.cpp b/src/historical.cpp
index 75ee79f..07d20a6 100644
--- a/src/historical.cpp
+++ b/src/historical.cpp
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 
 #include "databento/constants.hpp"
 #include "databento/datetime.hpp"
-#include "databento/dbn_decoder.hpp"
 #include "databento/dbn_file_store.hpp"
 #include "databento/detail/dbn_buffer_decoder.hpp"
 #include "databento/detail/json_helpers.hpp"
@@ -24,7 +23,6 @@
 #include "databento/log.hpp"
 #include "databento/metadata.hpp"
 #include "databento/timeseries.hpp"
-#include "dbn_constants.hpp"
 
 using databento::Historical;
 
@@ -676,7 +674,6 @@ double Historical::MetadataGetCost(
     const std::string& dataset, const DateTimeRange<UnixNanos>& datetime_range,
     const std::vector<std::string>& symbols, Schema schema, FeedMode mode,
     SType stype_in, std::uint64_t limit) {
-  static const std::string kPath = ::BuildMetadataPath(".get_cost");
   httplib::Params params{
       {"dataset", dataset},
       {"start", ToString(datetime_range.start)},
@@ -693,7 +690,6 @@ double Historical::MetadataGetCost(
     const DateTimeRange<std::string>& datetime_range,
     const std::vector<std::string>& symbols, Schema schema, FeedMode mode,
     SType stype_in, std::uint64_t limit) {
-  static const std::string kPath = ::BuildMetadataPath(".get_cost");
   httplib::Params params{
       {"dataset", dataset},
       {"start", datetime_range.start},
diff --git a/src/live_blocking.cpp b/src/live_blocking.cpp
index 167b77f..d36172c 100644
--- a/src/live_blocking.cpp
+++ b/src/live_blocking.cpp
@@ -148,6 +148,9 @@ databento::Metadata LiveBlocking::Start() {
   auto metadata = DbnDecoder::DecodeMetadataFields(version, buffer_.ReadBegin(),
                                                    buffer_.ReadEnd());
   buffer_.ReadBegin() += size;
+  // Metadata may leave buffer misaligned. Shift records to ensure 8-byte
+  // alignment
+  buffer_.Shift();
   version_ = metadata.version;
   metadata.Upgrade(upgrade_policy_);
   return metadata;