What is CVE-2024-4435?

CVE-2024-4435 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ic-stable-structures (rust), affecting versions >= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4. It is fixed in 0.6.4.

How severe is CVE-2024-4435?

CVE-2024-4435 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (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 ic-stable-structures are affected by CVE-2024-4435?

ic-stable-structures (rust) versions >= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2024-4435?

Yes. CVE-2024-4435 is fixed in 0.6.4. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2024-4435 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2024-4435 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2024-4435 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-2024-4435?

Upgrade ic-stable-structures to 0.6.4 or later.

CVE-2024-4435 in ic-stable-structures

Q: How severe is CVE-2024-4435?

CVE-2024-4435 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (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.

Q: Which versions of ic-stable-structures are affected by CVE-2024-4435?

ic-stable-structures (rust) versions >= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2024-4435?

Yes. CVE-2024-4435 is fixed in 0.6.4. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2024-4435 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2024-4435 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2024-4435 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2024-4435?

Upgrade ic-stable-structures to 0.6.4 or later.

Summary

ic-stable-structures vulnerable to BTreeMap memory leak when deallocating nodes with overflows

Workarounds

Users who are not storing unbounded types in BTreeMap are not affected and do not need to upgrade. Otherwise, an upgrade to version 0.6.4 is necessary.

Impact

When storing unbounded types in a BTreeMap, a node is represented as a linked list of "memory chunks". It was discovered recently that when we deallocate a node, in some cases only the first memory chunk is deallocated, and the rest of the memory chunks remain (incorrectly) allocated, causing a memory leak.

In the worst case, depending on how a canister uses the BTreeMap, an adversary could interact with the canister through its API and trigger interactions with the map that keep consuming memory due to the memory leak. This could potentially lead to using an excessive amount of memory, or even running out of memory.

This issue has been fixed in #212 by changing the logic for deallocating nodes to ensure that all of a node's memory chunks are deallocated. Tests have been added to prevent regressions of this nature moving forward.

Note: Users of stable-structure < 0.6.0 are not affected.

CVE-2024-4435 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (0.6.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

ic-stable-structures (>= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4)

Security releases

ic-stable-structures → 0.6.4 (rust)

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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Remediation advice

The problem has been fixed in PR #212 and users are asked to upgrade to version 0.6.4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-4435? CVE-2024-4435 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ic-stable-structures (rust), affecting versions >= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4. It is fixed in 0.6.4.
How severe is CVE-2024-4435? CVE-2024-4435 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (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 ic-stable-structures are affected by CVE-2024-4435? ic-stable-structures (rust) versions >= 0.6.0, < 0.6.4 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2024-4435? Yes. CVE-2024-4435 is fixed in 0.6.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2024-4435 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-4435 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-2024-4435 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-2024-4435? Upgrade ic-stable-structures to 0.6.4 or later.