CVE-2024-27284: Cassandra cpp Cassandra-rs's Non-idiomatic Use Of Iterators Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x9xc-63hg-vcfq
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-27284 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) cassandra-rs's non-idiomatic use of iterators vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Cassandra cpp libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves cassandra-rs's non-idiomatic use of iterators leads to use after free. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.0.0.

CVE-2024-27284 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-27284
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x9xc-63hg-vcfq
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Cassandra cpp
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-2024-27284

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

cassandra-cpp fixed: 3.0.0 
Upgrade cassandra-cpp to 3.0.0
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 cassandra-cpp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-27284, inspect your project dependencies for Cassandra cpp:

inspect dependencies for cassandra-cpp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cassandra cpp in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.0.0), 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 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 Cassandra cpp, 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

### Impact Code that attempts to use an item (e.g., a row) returned by an iterator after the iterator has advanced to the next item will be accessing freed memory and experience undefined behaviour. Code that uses the item and then advances the iterator is unaffected. This problem has always existed. This is a use-after-free bug, so it's rated high severity. If your code uses a pre-3.0.0 version of cassandra-rs, and uses an item returned by a cassandra-rs iterator after calling `next()` on that iterator, then it is vulnerable. However, such code will almost always fail immediately - so we believe it is unlikely that any code using this pattern would have reached production. For peace of mind, we recommend you upgrade anyway. ### Patches The problem has been fixed in version 3.0.0. Users should upgrade to ensure their code cannot use the problematic pattern. ### Workarounds Ensure all usage fits the expected pattern. For example, use `get_first_row()` rather than an iterator, or completely process an item before advancing the iterator with `next()`. ### References None.

CVE-2024-27284 Affected Cassandra cpp Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cassandra-cpp
 crates.io
< 3.0.0
3.0.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs/security/advisories/GHSA-x9xc-63hg-vcfq
NVD — CVE-2024-27284 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-27284
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs/commit/ae054dc8044eac9c2c7ae2b1ab154b53ca7f8df7
Cassandra cpp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0017.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-27284?
CVE-2024-27284 is a security vulnerability in Cassandra cpp involving cassandra-rs's non-idiomatic use of iterators leads to use after free under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Cassandra cpp versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.0.0 across affected packages: cassandra-cpp.
What version fixes CVE-2024-27284?
Upgrading to 3.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cassandra-cpp affected?
Yes, cassandra-cpp is affected in releases prior to 3.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 3.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-27284?
CVE-2024-27284 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-2024-27284?
CVE-2024-27284 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 CVE-2024-27284?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for cassandra-cpp'. 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-x9xc-63hg-vcfq",
  "modified" : "2025-04-01T22:59:42Z",
  "published" : "2024-04-05T15:00:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-27284" ],
  "summary" : "cassandra-rs's non-idiomatic use of iterators leads to use after free",
  "details" : "### Impact\nCode that attempts to use an item (e.g., a row) returned by an iterator after the iterator has advanced to the next item will be accessing freed memory and experience undefined behaviour. Code that uses the item and then advances the iterator is unaffected. This problem has always existed.\n\nThis is a use-after-free bug, so it's rated high severity. If your code uses a pre-3.0.0 version of cassandra-rs, and uses an item returned by a cassandra-rs iterator after calling `next()` on that iterator, then it is vulnerable. However, such code will almost always fail immediately - so we believe it is unlikely that any code using this pattern would have reached production. For peace of mind, we recommend you upgrade anyway.\n\n### Patches\nThe problem has been fixed in version 3.0.0. Users should upgrade to ensure their code cannot use the problematic pattern.\n\n### Workarounds\nEnsure all usage fits the expected pattern. For example, use `get_first_row()` rather than an iterator, or completely process an item before advancing the iterator with `next()`.\n\n### References\nNone.",
  "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" : "cassandra-cpp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs/security/advisories/GHSA-x9xc-63hg-vcfq"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-27284"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs/commit/ae054dc8044eac9c2c7ae2b1ab154b53ca7f8df7"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Metaswitch/cassandra-rs"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2024-0017.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-05T15:00:55Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-02-29T01:44:19Z"
  }
}