MEDIUM · 6.3

CVE-2021-39216

Wasmtime is an open source runtime for WebAssembly & WASI. In Wasmtime from version 0.19.0 and before version 0.30.0 there was a use-after-free bug when passing `externref`s from the host to guest Was...

Vulnerability Description

Wasmtime is an open source runtime for WebAssembly & WASI. In Wasmtime from version 0.19.0 and before version 0.30.0 there was a use-after-free bug when passing `externref`s from the host to guest Wasm content. To trigger the bug, you have to explicitly pass multiple `externref`s from the host to a Wasm instance at the same time, either by passing multiple `externref`s as arguments from host code to a Wasm function, or returning multiple `externref`s to Wasm from a multi-value return function defined in the host. If you do not have host code that matches one of these shapes, then you are not impacted. If Wasmtime's `VMExternRefActivationsTable` became filled to capacity after passing the first `externref` in, then passing in the second `externref` could trigger a garbage collection. However the first `externref` is not rooted until we pass control to Wasm, and therefore could be reclaimed by the collector if nothing else was holding a reference to it or otherwise keeping it alive. Then, when control was passed to Wasm after the garbage collection, Wasm could use the first `externref`, which at this point has already been freed. We have reason to believe that the effective impact of this bug is relatively small because usage of `externref` is currently quite rare. The bug has been fixed, and users should upgrade to Wasmtime 0.30.0. If you cannot upgrade Wasmtime yet, you can avoid the bug by disabling reference types support in Wasmtime by passing `false` to `wasmtime::Config::wasm_reference_types`.

CVSS Score

6.3

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
HIGH
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH

Affected Products

VendorProductVersions
BytecodeallianceWasmtime>= 0.19.0, < 0.30.0
FedoraprojectFedora34

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

References

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-39216?

CVE-2021-39216 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 6.3 (MEDIUM). Wasmtime is an open source runtime for WebAssembly & WASI. In Wasmtime from version 0.19.0 and before version 0.30.0 there was a use-after-free bug when passing `externref`s from the host to guest Was...

How severe is CVE-2021-39216?

CVE-2021-39216 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 6.3/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2021-39216?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Bytecodealliance Wasmtime, Fedoraproject Fedora.