CVE-2020-36443: Libp2p deflate Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gvcp-948f-8f2p
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-908
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36443 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource) affecting Libp2p deflate libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves use of uninitialized resource in libp2p-deflate. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.27.1.

CVE-2020-36443 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36443
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gvcp-948f-8f2p
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource
Affected Product Libp2p deflate
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-2020-36443

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Libp2p deflate dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

libp2p-deflate fixed: 0.27.1 
Upgrade libp2p-deflate to 0.27.1
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 libp2p-deflate

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-36443, inspect your project dependencies for Libp2p deflate:

inspect dependencies for libp2p-deflate

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Libp2p deflate in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.27.1), 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 Libp2p deflate, 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 libp2p-deflate crate before 0.27.1 for Rust. An uninitialized buffer is passed to AsyncRead::poll_read(), which is a user-provided trait function.

CVE-2020-36443 Affected Libp2p deflate Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.27.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
libp2p-deflate
 crates.io
< 0.27.1
0.27.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36443 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36443
Libp2p deflate Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0123.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36443?
CVE-2020-36443 is a security vulnerability in Libp2p deflate involving Use of Uninitialized Resource in libp2p-deflate under CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource.
Which Libp2p deflate versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.27.1 across affected packages: libp2p-deflate.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36443?
Upgrading to 0.27.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is libp2p-deflate affected?
Yes, libp2p-deflate is affected in releases prior to 0.27.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.27.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36443?
CVE-2020-36443 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-2020-36443?
CVE-2020-36443 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-2020-36443?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for libp2p-deflate'. 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-gvcp-948f-8f2p",
  "modified" : "2021-08-18T19:04:08Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:59:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36443" ],
  "summary" : "Use of Uninitialized Resource in libp2p-deflate",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the libp2p-deflate crate before 0.27.1 for Rust. An uninitialized buffer is passed to AsyncRead::poll_read(), which is a user-provided trait function.",
  "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" : "libp2p-deflate"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.27.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36443"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0123.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-908" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-09T22:18:41Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-08T06:15:00Z"
  }
}