CVE-2021-25903: Cache Null Pointer Deference Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gh87-6jr3-8q47
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-25903 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) null pointer deference vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Cache libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves null pointer deference in cache. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-25903 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-25903
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gh87-6jr3-8q47
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Cache
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:N/I:N/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 None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-25903

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

cache fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade cache 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 cache

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-25903, inspect your project dependencies for Cache:

inspect dependencies for cache

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cache 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-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Cache, 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 cache crate through 2021-01-01 for Rust. A raw pointer is dereferenced.

CVE-2021-25903 Affected Cache Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cache
 crates.io
≤ 0.1.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-25903 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25903
Cache Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/krl/cache/issues/2
Cache Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/krl/cache
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0006.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-25903?
CVE-2021-25903 is a security vulnerability in Cache involving Null pointer deference in cache under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Cache versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: cache.
What version fixes CVE-2021-25903?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cache affected?
Yes, cache 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-2021-25903?
CVE-2021-25903 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-25903?
CVE-2021-25903 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-25903?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for cache'. 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-gh87-6jr3-8q47",
  "modified" : "2021-08-19T18:45:43Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:52:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-25903" ],
  "summary" : "Null pointer deference in cache",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the cache crate through 2021-01-01 for Rust. A raw pointer is dereferenced.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "cache"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.1.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25903"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/krl/cache/issues/2"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/krl/cache"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0006.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-19T18:45:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}