CVE-2021-38194: Ark r1cs std Calculation Error Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qj3v-q2vj-4c8h
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-682
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-38194 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) calculation error vulnerability (CWE-682: Incorrect Calculation) affecting Ark r1cs std libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves calculation error in ark-r1cs-std. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.3.1.

CVE-2021-38194 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-38194
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qj3v-q2vj-4c8h
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-682: Incorrect Calculation
Affected Product Ark r1cs std
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-2021-38194

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ark r1cs std dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

ark-r1cs-std fixed: 0.3.1 
Upgrade ark-r1cs-std to 0.3.1
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 ark-r1cs-std

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-38194, inspect your project dependencies for Ark r1cs std:

inspect dependencies for ark-r1cs-std

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ark r1cs std in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.3.1), 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-682: Incorrect Calculation, where the product performs a calculation that generates incorrect or unintended results that are later used in security-critical decisions or resource management. In Ark r1cs std, 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

An issue was discovered in the ark-r1cs-std crate before 0.3.1 for Rust. It does not enforce any constraints in the FieldVar::mul_by_inverse method. Thus, a prover can produce a proof that is unsound but is nonetheless verified.

CVE-2021-38194 Affected Ark r1cs std Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ark-r1cs-std
 crates.io
≥ 0.2.0
< 0.3.1
0.3.1

References

NVD — CVE-2021-38194 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38194
Ark r1cs std Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std/pull/70
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std/commit/47ddbaa411afe7c499311a248a38135e5a192b67
Ark r1cs std Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std
raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db... WEB
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/ark-r1cs-std/RUSTSEC-2021-0075.md
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0075.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-38194?
CVE-2021-38194 is a security vulnerability in Ark r1cs std involving Calculation error in ark-r1cs-std under CWE-682: Incorrect Calculation.
Which Ark r1cs std versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.3.1 across affected packages: ark-r1cs-std.
What version fixes CVE-2021-38194?
Upgrading to 0.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ark-r1cs-std affected?
Yes, ark-r1cs-std is affected in releases prior to 0.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.3.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-38194?
CVE-2021-38194 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-2021-38194?
CVE-2021-38194 is classified under CWE-682: Incorrect Calculation (The product performs a calculation that generates incorrect or unintended results that are later used in security-critical decisions or resource management.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-38194?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ark-r1cs-std'. 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-qj3v-q2vj-4c8h",
  "modified" : "2021-08-18T21:27:27Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T20:55:58Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-38194" ],
  "summary" : "Calculation error in ark-r1cs-std",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the ark-r1cs-std crate before 0.3.1 for Rust. It does not enforce any constraints in the FieldVar::mul_by_inverse method. Thus, a prover can produce a proof that is unsound but is nonetheless verified.",
  "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" : "ark-r1cs-std"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38194"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std/pull/70"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std/commit/47ddbaa411afe7c499311a248a38135e5a192b67"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/arkworks-rs/r1cs-std"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/ark-r1cs-std/RUSTSEC-2021-0075.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0075.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-682" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-18T21:27:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-08T06:15:00Z"
  }
}