CVE-2021-3013: Ripgrep OS Command Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g4xg-fxmg-vcg5
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-78
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-3013 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) os command injection vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Ripgrep libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves os command injection in ripgrep. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 13.0.0, 0.1.6.

CVE-2021-3013 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-3013
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g4xg-fxmg-vcg5
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Product Ripgrep
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-3013

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

ripgrep fixed: 13.0.0 
Upgrade ripgrep to 13.0.0
grep-cli fixed: 0.1.6 
Upgrade grep-cli to 0.1.6
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 ripgrep

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-3013, inspect your project dependencies for Ripgrep:

inspect dependencies for ripgrep

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ripgrep in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 13.0.0), 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-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Ripgrep, 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

ripgrep before 13 on Windows allows attackers to trigger execution of arbitrary programs from the current working directory via the -z/--search-zip or --pre flag.

CVE-2021-3013 Affected Ripgrep Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
13.0.00.1.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ripgrep
 crates.io
< 13.0.0
13.0.0
grep-cli
 crates.io
< 0.1.6
0.1.6

References

NVD — CVE-2021-3013 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3013
Ripgrep Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/1773
Ripgrep Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep
Ripgrep Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/e48a17e1891e1ea9dd06ba0e48d5fb140ca7c0c4/CHANGELOG.md
Ripgrep Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
Ripgrep Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#1300-2021-06-12
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0071.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-3013?
CVE-2021-3013 is a security vulnerability in Ripgrep involving OS command injection in ripgrep under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Ripgrep versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 13.0.0, 0.1.6 across affected packages: ripgrep, grep-cli.
What version fixes CVE-2021-3013?
Upgrading to 13.0.0, 0.1.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ripgrep affected?
Yes, ripgrep is affected in releases prior to 13.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 13.0.0 or later.
Is grep-cli affected?
Yes, grep-cli is affected in releases prior to 0.1.6. Upgrade your dependency to 0.1.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3013?
CVE-2021-3013 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-3013?
CVE-2021-3013 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-3013?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ripgrep'. 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-g4xg-fxmg-vcg5",
  "modified" : "2021-09-07T21:16:08Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-05T19:31:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-3013" ],
  "summary" : "OS command injection in ripgrep",
  "details" : "ripgrep before 13 on Windows allows attackers to trigger execution of arbitrary programs from the current working directory via the -z/--search-zip or --pre flag.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "ripgrep"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "13.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "grep-cli"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.1.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3013"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/1773"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/e48a17e1891e1ea9dd06ba0e48d5fb140ca7c0c4/CHANGELOG.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#1300-2021-06-12"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0071.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-06-14T19:32:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-06-11T12:15:00Z"
  }
}