Summary
User-defined implementations of the safe trait scratchpad::Tracking can cause heap buffer overflows
The get and set methods of the public trait scratchpad::Tracking interact with unsafe code regions in the crate, and they influence the computation of addresses returned as raw pointers. However, the trait itself is not marked as unsafe, meaning users may provide custom implementations under the assumption that the crate upholds all safety guarantees.
This becomes problematic because even safe implementations of get and set-written without using any unsafe code-can still result in ill-formed raw pointers. These pointers may later be dereferenced within safe APIs of the crate (e.g., marker::MarkerBack::allocate_slice_copy), potentially leading to arbitrary memory access or heap buffer overflows.
According to the penultimate commit, the crate is in maintenance mode awaiting a cleanup that will reduce the area of unsafe code. Note that the last commits to the repository are from 4 years ago.
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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q? GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q is a medium-severity security vulnerability in scratchpad (rust), affecting versions <= 1.3.1. No fixed version is listed yet.
- Which versions of scratchpad are affected by GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q? scratchpad (rust) versions <= 1.3.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q? No fixed version is listed for GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q 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 GHSA-77H3-W9RX-HJ3Q 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.