CVE-2020-36461: Noise search Data Races Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wxjf-9f4g-3v44
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-362 CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36461 is a MODERATE (CVSS 8.1) data races vulnerability (CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')) affecting Noise search libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves data races in noise_search. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2020-36461 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36461
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wxjf-9f4g-3v44
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
Affected Product Noise search
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
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-2020-36461

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

noise_search fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade noise_search 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 noise_search

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-36461, inspect your project dependencies for Noise search:

inspect dependencies for noise_search

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Noise search 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-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition'), where the product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently. In Noise search, 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 the `noise_search` crate unconditionally implement Send/Sync for `MvccRwLock`. This can lead to data races when types that are either `!Send` or `!Sync` (e.g. `Rc<T>`, `Arc<Cell<_>>`) are contained inside `MvccRwLock` and sent across thread boundaries. The data races can potentially lead to memory corruption (as demonstrated in the PoC from the original report issue). Also, safe APIs of `MvccRwLock` allow aliasing violations by allowing `&T` and `LockResult<MutexGuard<Box<T>>>` to co-exist in conflicting lifetime regions. The APIs of `MvccRwLock` should either be marked as `unsafe` or `MbccRwLock` should be changed to private or pub(crate).

CVE-2020-36461 Affected Noise search Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
noise_search
 crates.io
≤ 0.7.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36461 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36461
Noise search Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pipedown/noise/issues/72
Noise search Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pipedown/noise
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0141.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36461?
CVE-2020-36461 is a security vulnerability in Noise search involving Data races in noise_search under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition').
Which Noise search versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: noise_search.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36461?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is noise_search affected?
Yes, noise_search is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36461?
CVE-2020-36461 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36461?
CVE-2020-36461 is classified under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') (The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2020-36461?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for noise_search'. 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-wxjf-9f4g-3v44",
  "modified" : "2021-08-24T18:02:25Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:56:05Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36461" ],
  "summary" : "Data races in noise_search",
  "details" : "Affected versions of the `noise_search` crate unconditionally implement Send/Sync for `MvccRwLock`.\nThis can lead to data races when types that are either `!Send` or `!Sync` (e.g. `Rc<T>`, `Arc<Cell<_>>`) are contained inside `MvccRwLock` and sent across thread boundaries. The data races can potentially lead to memory corruption (as demonstrated in the PoC from the original report issue).\n\nAlso, safe APIs of `MvccRwLock` allow aliasing violations by allowing `&T` and `LockResult<MutexGuard<Box<T>>>` to co-exist in conflicting lifetime regions. The APIs of `MvccRwLock` should either be marked as `unsafe` or `MbccRwLock` should be changed to private or pub(crate).\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "noise_search"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.7.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36461"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pipedown/noise/issues/72"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pipedown/noise"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2020-0141.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-362", "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-18T21:19:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-08T06:15:00Z"
  }
}