Summary
Use after free in libpulse-binding
Overview
Version 2.5.0 of the libpulse-binding Rust crate, released on the 22nd of December 2018, fixed a potential use-after-free issue with property list iteration due to a lack of a lifetime constraint tying the lifetime of a proplist::Iterator to the Proplist object for which it was created. This made it possible for users, without experiencing a compiler error/warning, to destroy the Proplist object before the iterator, thus destroying the underlying C object the iterator works upon, before the iterator may be finished with it.
This advisory is being written retrospectively, having previously only been noted in the changelog. No CVE assignment was sought.
This impacts all versions of the crate before 2.5.0 back to 1.0.5. Before version 1.0.5 the function that produces the iterator was broken to the point of being useless.
Impact
Memory is accessed after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior in native code. Typical impact: memory corruption, crash, or potential code execution.
CVE-2018-25001 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.5.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Users are required to update to version 2.5.0 or newer.
Versions older than 2.5.0 have been yanked from crates.io as of the 22nd of October 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2018-25001? CVE-2018-25001 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in libpulse-binding (rust), affecting versions >= 1.0.5, < 2.5.0. It is fixed in 2.5.0. Memory is accessed after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior in native code.
- How severe is CVE-2018-25001? CVE-2018-25001 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of libpulse-binding are affected by CVE-2018-25001? libpulse-binding (rust) versions >= 1.0.5, < 2.5.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2018-25001? Yes. CVE-2018-25001 is fixed in 2.5.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2018-25001 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2018-25001 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2018-25001 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2018-25001? Upgrade
libpulse-bindingto 2.5.0 or later.