Summary
crossbeam-channel Vulnerable to Double Free on Drop
The internal Channel type's Drop method has a race
which could, in some circumstances, lead to a double-free.
This could result in memory corruption.
Quoting from the
upstream description in merge request #1187:
The problem lies in the fact that dicard_all_messages contained two paths that could lead to head.block being read but only one of them would swap the value. This meant that dicard_all_messages could end up observing a non-null block pointer (and therefore attempting to free it) without setting head.block to null. This would then lead to Channel::drop making a second attempt at dropping the same pointer.
The bug was introduced while fixing a memory leak, in
upstream MR #1084,
first published in 0.5.12.
The fix is in
upstream MR #1187
and has been published in 0.5.15
Impact
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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-4574? CVE-2025-4574 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in crossbeam-channel (rust), affecting versions >= 0.5.12, < 0.5.15. It is fixed in 0.5.15.
- Which versions of crossbeam-channel are affected by CVE-2025-4574? crossbeam-channel (rust) versions >= 0.5.12, < 0.5.15 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-4574? Yes. CVE-2025-4574 is fixed in 0.5.15. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-4574 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-4574 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-2025-4574 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-2025-4574? Upgrade
crossbeam-channelto 0.5.15 or later.