GHSA-969w-q74q-9j8v json
Unsound API in `secp256k1` allows use-after-free and invalid deallocation from safe code
published 3y ago modified 3y ago also RUSTSEC-2022-0070
- cvss
- —
- not scored
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- —
- no score, EPSS covers CVEs only
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
Because of incorrect bounds on method `Secp256k1::preallocated_gen_new` it was possible to cause use-after-free from safe consumer code. It was also possible to "free" memory not allocated by the appropriate allocator.
The method takes a place for storing the context as a mutable reference and returns context containing that reference. Because the code internally uses `unsafe` and the bounds were incorrect it was possible to create a context that outlived the passed reference (e.g. `'static`). Because the context can alternatively carry heap-allocated pointer freed on drop it was possible to "deallocate" a pointer that wasn't returned from appropriate allocator. The code decides whether to free the memory based on type parameter but because of missing bound it was possible to construct the context with invalid parameter.
You are unaffected if you either
* don't call `Secp256k1::preallocated_gen_new` * manually checked that your usage of the method is sound * upgraded to the patched version of `secp256k1` (recommended)
The patched version uses correct bounds which means it is API-breaking. This effectively means adopting the policy of Rust lang itself allowing API-breaking changes to fix soundness bugs. Note however that valid straigthforward usage of the code will continue to compile. Only unsound code or code that propagates the bound in custom generics will fail to compile. If the code is sound fixing the bounds should be sufficient to make the code compile.
See the [GitHub issue](https://github.com/rust-bitcoin/rust-secp256k1/issues/543) for example "exploit" code and further discussion.
Patch / fix
Is GHSA-969w-q74q-9j8v in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerAffected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| crates.io | secp256k1 | >=0.14.0, <0.22.2 >=0.23.0, <0.23.5 >=0.24.0, <0.24.2 |
0.22.2 0.23.5 0.24.2 |
References
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-969w-q74q-9j8v
- OSV RUSTSEC-2022-0070
Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.