Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-38497


Cargo downloads the Rust project’s dependencies and compiles the project. Cargo prior to version 0.72.2, bundled with Rust prior to version 1.71.1, did not respect the umask when extracting crate archives on UNIX-like systems. If the user downloaded a crate containing files writeable by any local user, another local user could exploit this to change the source code compiled and executed by the current user. To prevent existing cached extractions from being exploitable, the Cargo binary version 0.72.2 included in Rust 1.71.1 or later will purge caches generated by older Cargo versions automatically. As a workaround, configure one's system to prevent other local users from accessing the Cargo directory, usually located in `~/.cargo`.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.9, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from rust-lang, from fedoraproject organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2023-08-04T16:15:10.370

Last Modified

2024-11-21T08:13:41.803

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.9 (HIGH)

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-278
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-732

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application rust-lang cargo < 0.72.2 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 38 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For rust-lang's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.