GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx: Hexchat Hexchat Crate Has A Use Vulnerability

HIGH
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CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx is a HIGH hexchat crate has a use vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Hexchat libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves hexchat crate has a use after free vulnerability. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Hexchat
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx

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

hexchat fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade hexchat 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 hexchat

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx, inspect your project dependencies for Hexchat:

inspect dependencies for hexchat

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Hexchat 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-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Hexchat, 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

All versions of this crate have function `deregister_command` which can result in use after free. This is unsound. In addition, all versions since 0.3.0 have "safe" macros, which are documented as unsafe to use in threads. In addition, the `hexchat` crate is no longer actively maintained. If users rely on this crate, consider switching to an alternative.

GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx Affected Hexchat Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
hexchat
 crates.io
≤ 0.6.3

References

Hexchat Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pie-flavor/hexchat-rs/issues/3
Hexchat Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pie-flavor/hexchat-rs
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2025-0153.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx?
GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx is a security vulnerability in Hexchat involving hexchat crate has a Use After Free vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Hexchat versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: hexchat.
What version fixes GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is hexchat affected?
Yes, hexchat is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx?
GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for GHSA-x43w-ph7m-pfjx?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for hexchat'. 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-x43w-ph7m-pfjx",
  "modified" : "2026-02-25T19:23:47Z",
  "published" : "2026-02-25T19:23:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "hexchat crate has a Use After Free vulnerability",
  "details" : "All versions of this crate have function `deregister_command` which can result in use after free. This is unsound.\n\nIn addition, all versions since 0.3.0 have \"safe\" macros, which are documented as unsafe to use in threads.\n\nIn addition, the `hexchat` crate is no longer actively maintained.  If users rely on this crate, consider switching to an alternative.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "hexchat"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.6.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pie-flavor/hexchat-rs/issues/3"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pie-flavor/hexchat-rs"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2025-0153.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-02-25T19:23:47Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}