Summary
Use after free in libpulse-binding
Overview
Version 1.2.1 of the libpulse-binding Rust crate, released on the 15th of June 2018, fixed a pair of use-after-free issues with the objects returned by the get_format_info and get_context methods of Stream objects. These objects were mistakenly being constructed without setting an important flag to prevent destruction of the underlying C objects they reference upon their own destruction.
This advisory is being written retrospectively, having previously only been noted in the changelog. No CVE assignment was sought.
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.
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 1.2.1 or newer.
Versions older than 1.2.1 have been yanked from crates.io. This was believed to have already been done at the time of the 1.2.1 release, but upon double checking now they were found to still be available, so has been done now (22nd October 2020).
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W? GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in libpulse-binding (rust), affecting versions < 1.2.1. It is fixed in 1.2.1. Memory is accessed after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior in native code.
- Which versions of libpulse-binding are affected by GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W? libpulse-binding (rust) versions < 1.2.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W? Yes. GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W is fixed in 1.2.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W 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-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W 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 GHSA-GHPQ-VJXW-CH5W? Upgrade
libpulse-bindingto 1.2.1 or later.