CVE-2021-45712: Rust embed Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xrg3-hmf3-rvgw
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-45712 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Rust embed libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in rust-embed. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.3.0.

CVE-2021-45712 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-45712
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xrg3-hmf3-rvgw
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Rust embed
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:H/I:N/A:N).

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 None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-45712

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

rust-embed fixed: 6.3.0 
Upgrade rust-embed to 6.3.0
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 rust-embed

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-45712, inspect your project dependencies for Rust embed:

inspect dependencies for rust-embed

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Rust embed in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.3.0), 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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Rust embed, 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

When running in debug mode and the debug-embed (off by default) feature is not enabled, the generated get method does not check that the input path is a child of the folder given. This allows attackers to read arbitrary files in the file system if they have control over the filename given. The following code will print the contents of your /etc/passwd if adjusted with a correct number of ../s depending on where it is run from.

CVE-2021-45712 Affected Rust embed Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.3.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
rust-embed
 crates.io
< 6.3.0
6.3.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-45712 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45712
Rust embed Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pyros2097/rust-embed/issues/159
Rust embed Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pyros2097/rust-embed
raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db... WEB
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/rust-embed/RUSTSEC-2021-0126.md
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0126.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-45712?
CVE-2021-45712 is a security vulnerability in Rust embed involving Path Traversal in rust-embed under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Rust embed versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.3.0 across affected packages: rust-embed.
What version fixes CVE-2021-45712?
Upgrading to 6.3.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is rust-embed affected?
Yes, rust-embed is affected in releases prior to 6.3.0. Upgrade your dependency to 6.3.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-45712?
CVE-2021-45712 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:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-45712?
CVE-2021-45712 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-45712?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for rust-embed'. 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-xrg3-hmf3-rvgw",
  "modified" : "2023-06-13T20:41:58Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T22:03:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-45712" ],
  "summary" : "Path Traversal in rust-embed",
  "details" : "When running in debug mode and the debug-embed (off by default) feature is not enabled, the generated get method does not check that the input path is a child of the folder given.\n\nThis allows attackers to read arbitrary files in the file system if they have control over the filename given. The following code will print the contents of your /etc/passwd if adjusted with a correct number of ../s depending on where it is run from.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "rust-embed"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.3.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45712"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pyros2097/rust-embed/issues/159"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pyros2097/rust-embed"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/rust-embed/RUSTSEC-2021-0126.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0126.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-05T21:02:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-26T22:15:00Z"
  }
}