CVE-2019-15554: Smallvec Memory Corruption Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-69gw-hgj3-45m7
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-787
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-15554 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) memory corruption vulnerability (CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write) affecting Smallvec libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves memory corruption in smallvec. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.6.10.

CVE-2019-15554 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-15554
GHSA Identifier GHSA-69gw-hgj3-45m7
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write
Affected Product Smallvec
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:3.0/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-2019-15554

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

smallvec fixed: 0.6.10 
Upgrade smallvec to 0.6.10
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 smallvec

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-15554, inspect your project dependencies for Smallvec:

inspect dependencies for smallvec

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Smallvec in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.6.10), 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-787: Out-of-bounds Write, where the product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. In Smallvec, 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

Attempting to call grow on a spilled SmallVec with a value less than the current capacity causes corruption of memory allocator data structures. An attacker that controls the value passed to grow may exploit this flaw to obtain memory contents or gain remote code execution.

CVE-2019-15554 Affected Smallvec Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.6.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
smallvec
 crates.io
≥ 0.6.3
< 0.6.10
0.6.10

References

NVD — CVE-2019-15554 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15554
Smallvec Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/issues/149
Smallvec Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2019-0012.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-15554?
CVE-2019-15554 is a security vulnerability in Smallvec involving Memory corruption in smallvec under CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write.
Which Smallvec versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.6.10 across affected packages: smallvec.
What version fixes CVE-2019-15554?
Upgrading to 0.6.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is smallvec affected?
Yes, smallvec is affected in releases prior to 0.6.10. Upgrade your dependency to 0.6.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-15554?
CVE-2019-15554 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-15554?
CVE-2019-15554 is classified under CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write (The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2019-15554?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for smallvec'. 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-69gw-hgj3-45m7",
  "modified" : "2023-06-13T21:37:37Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:43:58Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-15554" ],
  "summary" : "Memory corruption in smallvec",
  "details" : "Attempting to call grow on a spilled SmallVec with a value less than the current capacity causes corruption of memory allocator data structures. An attacker that controls the value passed to grow may exploit this flaw to obtain memory contents or gain remote code execution.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "smallvec"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.6.3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.6.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15554"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/issues/149"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2019-0012.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-787" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-19T21:23:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}