CVE-2020-36432: Alg ds Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3vv3-frrq-6486
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-908 CWE-665
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36432 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource) affecting Alg ds libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves use of uninitialized resource in alg_ds. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2020-36432 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36432
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3vv3-frrq-6486
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource
Affected Product Alg ds
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-36432

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Alg ds dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

alg_ds fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade alg_ds to Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for alg_ds

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-36432, inspect your project dependencies for Alg ds:

inspect dependencies for alg_ds

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Alg ds in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource, where the product uses or accesses a resource that has not been initialized. In Alg ds, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

An issue was discovered in the alg_ds crate through 2020-08-25 for Rust. `Matrix::new()` internally calls `Matrix::fill_with()` which uses `*ptr = value` pattern to initialize the buffer. This pattern assumes that there is an initialized struct at the address and drops it, which results in dropping of uninitialized struct.

CVE-2020-36432 Affected Alg ds Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
alg_ds
 crates.io
≤ 0.3.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36432 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36432
gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds PACKAGE
https://gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds
gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds/-/... WEB
https://gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds/-/issues/1
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0033.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36432?
CVE-2020-36432 is a security vulnerability in Alg ds involving Use of Uninitialized Resource in alg_ds under CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource.
Which Alg ds versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: alg_ds.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36432?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is alg_ds affected?
Yes, alg_ds is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36432?
CVE-2020-36432 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36432?
CVE-2020-36432 is classified under CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource (The product uses or accesses a resource that has not been initialized.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2020-36432?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for alg_ds'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3vv3-frrq-6486",
  "modified" : "2021-08-24T19:10:18Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:59:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36432" ],
  "summary" : "Use of Uninitialized Resource in alg_ds",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the alg_ds crate through 2020-08-25 for Rust. `Matrix::new()` internally calls `Matrix::fill_with()` which uses `*ptr = value` pattern to initialize the buffer. This pattern assumes that there is an initialized struct at the address and drops it, which results in dropping of uninitialized struct.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "alg_ds"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36432"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gitlab.com/dvshapkin/alg-ds/-/issues/1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0033.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-665", "CWE-908" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-09T21:22:58Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-08T06:15:00Z"
  }
}