diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6242e8d4..263ffceb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -325,6 +325,7 @@ a protocol is supported by code generation.
 - [KIP-482](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-482%3A+The+Kafka+Protocol+should+Support+Optional+Tagged+Fields) (tagged fields; KAFKA-8885; 2.4.0)
 - [KIP-496](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-496%3A+Administrative+API+to+delete+consumer+offsets) (offset delete admin command; 2.4.0)
 - [KIP-497](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-497%3A+Add+inter-broker+API+to+alter+ISR) (new API to alter ISR; 2.7.0)
+- [KIP-498](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-498%3A+Add+client-side+configuration+for+maximum+response+size+to+protect+against+OOM) (add max bound on reads; unimplemented in Kafka)
 - [KIP-511](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-511%3A+Collect+and+Expose+Client%27s+Name+and+Version+in+the+Brokers) (add client name / version in apiversions req; 2.4.0)
 - [KIP-518](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-518%3A+Allow+listing+consumer+groups+per+state) (list groups by state; 2.6.0)
 - [KIP-525](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-525+-+Return+topic+metadata+and+configs+in+CreateTopics+response) (create topics v5 returns configs; 2.4.0)
diff --git a/pkg/kgo/broker.go b/pkg/kgo/broker.go
index 54a63b7b..c6be2b53 100644
--- a/pkg/kgo/broker.go
+++ b/pkg/kgo/broker.go
@@ -633,7 +633,7 @@ func (cxn *brokerCxn) doSasl(authenticate bool) error {
 				return ErrConnDead
 			}
 			if !done {
-				if challenge, err = readConn(cxn.conn, rt); err != nil {
+				if challenge, err = readConn(cxn.conn, cxn.b.cl.cfg.maxBrokerReadBytes, rt); err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
 			}
@@ -741,19 +741,22 @@ func (cxn *brokerCxn) writeRequest(ctx context.Context, writeWait time.Duration,
 	return id, nil
 }
 
-func readConn(conn net.Conn, timeout time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
+func readConn(conn net.Conn, maxSize int32, timeout time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
 	sizeBuf := make([]byte, 4)
 	if timeout > 0 {
 		conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(timeout))
 		defer conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Time{})
 	}
-	if _, err := io.ReadFull(conn, sizeBuf[:4]); err != nil {
+	if _, err := io.ReadFull(conn, sizeBuf); err != nil {
 		return nil, ErrConnDead
 	}
-	size := int32(binary.BigEndian.Uint32(sizeBuf[:4]))
+	size := int32(binary.BigEndian.Uint32(sizeBuf))
 	if size < 0 {
 		return nil, ErrInvalidRespSize
 	}
+	if size > maxSize {
+		return nil, &ErrLargeRespSize{Size: size, Limit: maxSize}
+	}
 
 	buf := make([]byte, size)
 	if _, err := io.ReadFull(conn, buf); err != nil {
@@ -766,7 +769,7 @@ func readConn(conn net.Conn, timeout time.Duration) ([]byte, error) {
 // correct, and returns a newly allocated slice on success.
 func (cxn *brokerCxn) readResponse(readWait time.Duration, key int16, corrID int32, timeout time.Duration, flexibleHeader bool) ([]byte, error) {
 	readStart := time.Now()
-	buf, err := readConn(cxn.conn, timeout)
+	buf, err := readConn(cxn.conn, cxn.b.cl.cfg.maxBrokerReadBytes, timeout)
 	timeToRead := time.Since(readStart)
 
 	cxn.cl.cfg.hooks.each(func(h Hook) {
diff --git a/pkg/kgo/config.go b/pkg/kgo/config.go
index 87292d39..e05d6c6a 100644
--- a/pkg/kgo/config.go
+++ b/pkg/kgo/config.go
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ type cfg struct {
 	brokerConnDeadRetries int
 
 	maxBrokerWriteBytes int32
+	maxBrokerReadBytes  int32
 
 	allowAutoTopicCreation bool
 
@@ -180,6 +181,7 @@ func defaultCfg() cfg {
 		brokerConnDeadRetries: 20,
 
 		maxBrokerWriteBytes: 100 << 20, // Kafka socket.request.max.bytes default is 100<<20
+		maxBrokerReadBytes:  100 << 20,
 
 		metadataMaxAge: 5 * time.Minute,
 		metadataMinAge: 10 * time.Second,
@@ -373,6 +375,16 @@ func BrokerMaxWriteBytes(v int32) Opt {
 	return clientOpt{func(cfg *cfg) { cfg.maxBrokerWriteBytes = v }}
 }
 
+// BrokerMaxReadBytes sets the maximum response size that can be read from
+// Kafka, overriding the default 100MiB.
+//
+// This is a safety measure to avoid OOMing on invalid responses. This is
+// slightly double FetchMaxBytes; if bumping that, consider bump this. No other
+// response should run the risk of hitting this limit.
+func BrokerMaxReadBytes(v int32) Opt {
+	return clientOpt{func(cfg *cfg) { cfg.maxBrokerReadBytes = v }}
+}
+
 // MetadataMaxAge sets the maximum age for the client's cached metadata,
 // overriding the default 5m, to allow detection of new topics, partitions,
 // etc.
@@ -627,6 +639,8 @@ func FetchMaxWait(wait time.Duration) ConsumerOpt {
 // will buffer up to <brokers * max bytes> worth of memory.
 //
 // This corresponds to the Java fetch.max.bytes setting.
+//
+// If bumping this, consider bumping BrokerMaxReadBytes.
 func FetchMaxBytes(b int32) ConsumerOpt {
 	return consumerOpt{func(cfg *cfg) { cfg.maxBytes = b }}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kgo/errors.go b/pkg/kgo/errors.go
index 4f302b5f..c1029406 100644
--- a/pkg/kgo/errors.go
+++ b/pkg/kgo/errors.go
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ var (
 	// the client reads an invalid message response size from Kafka.
 	//
 	// If this error happens, the client closes the broker connection.
+	// This error is potentially retriable; maybe the broker will send
+	// less data next time, but it is unlikely.
 	ErrInvalidRespSize = errors.New("invalid response size less than zero")
 
 	// ErrInvalidResp is a generic error used when Kafka responded
@@ -111,6 +113,22 @@ type ErrDataLoss struct {
 	ResetTo int64
 }
 
+// ErrLargeRespSize is return when Kafka replies that a response will be more
+// bytes than this client allows (see the BrokerMaxReadBytes option).
+//
+// If this error happens, the client closes the broker connection.
+type ErrLargeRespSize struct {
+	// The size that was replied.
+	Size int32
+	// The limit that the size exceeded.
+	Limit int32
+}
+
+func (e *ErrLargeRespSize) Error() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("invalid large response size %d > limit %d",
+		e.Size, e.Limit)
+}
+
 func (e *ErrDataLoss) Error() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("topic %s partition %d lost records;"+
 		" the client consumed to offset %d but was reset to offset %d",