CVE-2021-45711: Simple asn1 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g4h2-4wvh-grc5
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-45711 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Simple asn1 libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves uncontrolled resource consumption in simple_asn1. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.6.1.

CVE-2021-45711 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-45711
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g4h2-4wvh-grc5
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Simple asn1
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-2021-45711

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Simple asn1 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

simple_asn1 fixed: 0.6.1 
Upgrade simple_asn1 to 0.6.1
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 simple_asn1

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-45711, inspect your project dependencies for Simple asn1:

inspect dependencies for simple_asn1

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Simple asn1 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.6.1), 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Simple asn1, 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 simple_asn1 crate 0.6.0 before 0.6.1 for Rust. There is a panic if UTCTime data, supplied by a remote attacker, has a second character greater than 0x7f.

CVE-2021-45711 Affected Simple asn1 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.6.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
simple_asn1
 crates.io
≥ 0.6.0
< 0.6.1
All 1 versions
0.6.0
0.6.1

References

NVD — CVE-2021-45711 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45711
Simple asn1 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1/issues/27
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1/commit/d7d39d709577710e9dc8833ee57d200eef366db8
Simple asn1 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1
raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db... WEB
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/simple_asn1/RUSTSEC-2021-0125.md
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0125.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-45711?
CVE-2021-45711 is a security vulnerability in Simple asn1 involving Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in simple_asn1 under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Simple asn1 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.6.1 across affected packages: simple_asn1.
What version fixes CVE-2021-45711?
Upgrading to 0.6.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is simple_asn1 affected?
Yes, simple_asn1 is affected in releases prior to 0.6.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.6.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-45711?
CVE-2021-45711 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-2021-45711?
CVE-2021-45711 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-45711?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for simple_asn1'. 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-g4h2-4wvh-grc5",
  "modified" : "2022-01-07T18:25:29Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T22:05:05Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-45711" ],
  "summary" : "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in simple_asn1",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the simple_asn1 crate 0.6.0 before 0.6.1 for Rust. There is a panic if UTCTime data, supplied by a remote attacker, has a second character greater than 0x7f.",
  "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" : "simple_asn1"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.6.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "0.6.0" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45711"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1/issues/27"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1/commit/d7d39d709577710e9dc8833ee57d200eef366db8"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/acw/simple_asn1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/simple_asn1/RUSTSEC-2021-0125.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0125.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-05T21:37:42Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-27T00:15:00Z"
  }
}