CVE-2021-45699: Ckb Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2969-8hh9-57jc
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-45699 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Ckb libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves allocation of resources without limits or throttling in ckb. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.40.0.

CVE-2021-45699 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-45699
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2969-8hh9-57jc
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Ckb
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-2021-45699

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

ckb fixed: 0.40.0 
Upgrade ckb to 0.40.0
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 ckb

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-45699, inspect your project dependencies for Ckb:

inspect dependencies for ckb

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ckb in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.40.0), 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-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Ckb, 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 ckb crate before 0.40.0 for Rust. Remote attackers may be able to conduct a 51% attack against the Nervos CKB blockchain by triggering an inability to allocate memory for the misbehavior HashMap.

CVE-2021-45699 Affected Ckb Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.40.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ckb
 crates.io
< 0.40.0
0.40.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb/security/advisories/GHSA-48vq-8jqv-gm6f
NVD — CVE-2021-45699 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45699
Ckb Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb
raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db... WEB
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/ckb/RUSTSEC-2021-0108.md
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0108.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-45699?
CVE-2021-45699 is a security vulnerability in Ckb involving Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in ckb under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Ckb versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.40.0 across affected packages: ckb.
What version fixes CVE-2021-45699?
Upgrading to 0.40.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ckb affected?
Yes, ckb is affected in releases prior to 0.40.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.40.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-45699?
CVE-2021-45699 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-2021-45699?
CVE-2021-45699 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-45699?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ckb'. 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-2969-8hh9-57jc",
  "modified" : "2022-01-07T17:53:54Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T22:09:49Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-45699" ],
  "summary" : "Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in ckb",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the ckb crate before 0.40.0 for Rust. Remote attackers may be able to conduct a 51% attack against the Nervos CKB blockchain by triggering an inability to allocate memory for the misbehavior HashMap.",
  "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" : "ckb"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.40.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb/security/advisories/GHSA-48vq-8jqv-gm6f"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45699"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/ckb/RUSTSEC-2021-0108.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0108.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-05T23:46:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-27T00:15:00Z"
  }
}