CVE-2018-25023: Smallvec Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-55m5-whcv-c49c
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-908
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-25023 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource) affecting Smallvec libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves use of uninitialized resource in smallvec. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.6.13.

CVE-2018-25023 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-25023
GHSA Identifier GHSA-55m5-whcv-c49c
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource
Affected Product Smallvec
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:H/A:N).

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 High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2018-25023

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

smallvec fixed: 0.6.13 
Upgrade smallvec to 0.6.13
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 smallvec

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-25023, inspect your project dependencies for Smallvec:

inspect dependencies for smallvec

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Smallvec in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.6.13), 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 Smallvec, 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

Affected versions of this crate called mem::uninitialized() to create values of a user-supplied type T. This is unsound e.g. if T is a reference type (which must be non-null and thus may not remain uninitialized). The flaw was corrected by avoiding the use of mem::uninitialized(), using MaybeUninit instead.

CVE-2018-25023 Affected Smallvec Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.6.13
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
smallvec
 crates.io
< 0.6.13
0.6.13

References

NVD — CVE-2018-25023 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-25023
Smallvec Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/issues/126
Smallvec Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/pull/162
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/commit/e64afc8c473d43e375ab42bd33db2d0d4ac4e41b
Smallvec Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec
raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db... WEB
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/smallvec/RUSTSEC-2018-0018.md
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0018.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-25023?
CVE-2018-25023 is a security vulnerability in Smallvec involving Use of Uninitialized Resource in smallvec under CWE-908: Use of Uninitialized Resource.
Which Smallvec versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.6.13 across affected packages: smallvec.
What version fixes CVE-2018-25023?
Upgrading to 0.6.13 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is smallvec affected?
Yes, smallvec is affected in releases prior to 0.6.13. Upgrade your dependency to 0.6.13 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-25023?
CVE-2018-25023 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:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-25023?
CVE-2018-25023 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-2018-25023?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for smallvec'. 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-55m5-whcv-c49c",
  "modified" : "2023-06-13T20:53:48Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T22:20:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-25023" ],
  "summary" : "Use of Uninitialized Resource in smallvec",
  "details" : "Affected versions of this crate called mem::uninitialized() to create values of a user-supplied type T. This is unsound e.g. if T is a reference type (which must be non-null and thus may not remain uninitialized). The flaw was corrected by avoiding the use of mem::uninitialized(), using MaybeUninit instead.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "smallvec"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.6.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-25023"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/issues/126"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/pull/162"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec/commit/e64afc8c473d43e375ab42bd33db2d0d4ac4e41b"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/servo/rust-smallvec"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/smallvec/RUSTSEC-2018-0018.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0018.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-908" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-06T18:40:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-27T00:15:00Z"
  }
}