GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g: Glib :VariantStrIter` Vulnerability

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Advisory Summary

GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g is a MODERATE :variantstriter` vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Glib libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves :variantstriter`. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.20.0.

GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Glib
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g

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

glib fixed: 0.20.0 
Upgrade glib to 0.20.0
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 glib

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g, inspect your project dependencies for Glib:

inspect dependencies for glib

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Glib in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.20.0), 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 General Security Weakness. In Glib, 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

The `VariantStrIter::impl_get` function (called internally by implementations of the `Iterator` and `DoubleEndedIterator` traits for this type) was unsound, resulting in undefined behaviour. An immutable reference `&p` to a `*mut libc::c_char` pointer initialized to `NULL` was passed as an argument to a C function that that mutates the pointer behind `&p` in-place (i.e. as an out-argument), which was unsound. After changes in recent versions of the Rust compiler, these unsound writes through `&p` now seem to be completely disregarded when building the `glib` crate with optimizations. This subsequently caused all calls of `VariantStrIter::impl_get` to violate the safety requirements of the `std::ffi::CStr::from_ptr` function - which requires its argument to be a valid pointer to a C-style string - resulting in crashes due to `NULL` pointer dereferences. This was fixed by passing the out-argument pointer explitly as `&mut p` instead of `&p`. This issue has been present since this code was initially added in `glib` v0.15.0. The mismatch in mutability was likely missed (and not raised as an error by the compiler) because the C function wrapped by `VariantStrIter::impl_get` is variadic (`glib_sys::g_variant_get_child`), and the pointer in question is one of the variadic arguments.

GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g Affected Glib Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.20.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
glib
 crates.io
≥ 0.15.0
< 0.20.0
0.20.0

References

Glib Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/gtk-rs/gtk-rs-core/pull/1343
Glib Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/gtk-rs/gtk-rs-core
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0429.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g?
GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g is a security vulnerability in Glib involving :VariantStrIter` under General Security Weakness.
Which Glib versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.20.0 across affected packages: glib.
What version fixes GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g?
Upgrading to 0.20.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is glib affected?
Yes, glib is affected in releases prior to 0.20.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.20.0 or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g?
GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check crates.io dependencies for GHSA-wrw7-89jp-8q8g?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for glib'. 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-wrw7-89jp-8q8g",
  "modified" : "2024-12-23T20:19:24Z",
  "published" : "2024-12-23T20:19:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Unsoundness in `Iterator` and `DoubleEndedIterator` impls for `glib::VariantStrIter`",
  "details" : "The `VariantStrIter::impl_get` function (called internally by implementations of the `Iterator` and `DoubleEndedIterator` traits for this type) was unsound, resulting in undefined behaviour.\n\nAn immutable reference `&p` to a `*mut libc::c_char` pointer initialized to `NULL` was passed as an argument to a C function that that mutates the pointer behind `&p` in-place (i.e. as an out-argument), which was unsound. After changes in recent versions of the Rust compiler, these unsound writes through `&p` now seem to be completely disregarded when building the `glib` crate with optimizations.\n\nThis subsequently caused all calls of `VariantStrIter::impl_get` to violate the safety requirements of the `std::ffi::CStr::from_ptr` function - which requires its argument to be a valid pointer to a C-style string - resulting in crashes due to `NULL` pointer dereferences.\n\nThis was fixed by passing the out-argument pointer explitly as `&mut p` instead of `&p`.\n\nThis issue has been present since this code was initially added in `glib` v0.15.0. The mismatch in mutability was likely missed (and not raised as an error by the compiler) because the C function wrapped by `VariantStrIter::impl_get` is variadic (`glib_sys::g_variant_get_child`), and the pointer in question is one of the variadic arguments.\n\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "glib"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.15.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.20.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/gtk-rs/gtk-rs-core/pull/1343"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/gtk-rs/gtk-rs-core"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0429.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-12-23T20:19:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}