CVE-2020-35916 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

An issue was discovered in the image crate before 0.23.12 for Rust where a Mutable reference has immutable provenance.

Understanding CVE-2020-35916

This CVE describes a vulnerability in the image crate for Rust.

What is CVE-2020-35916?

The issue in the image crate allows a Mutable reference to have immutable provenance, potentially leading to incorrect behavior in LLVM Intermediate Representation (IR).

The Impact of CVE-2020-35916

The vulnerability could result in incorrect behavior in LLVM IR, affecting the reliability and correctness of the software utilizing the image crate.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-35916

This section provides technical details of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue in the image crate before version 0.23.12 allows a Mutable reference to have immutable provenance.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Not applicable
Vendor: Not applicable
Versions affected: Not applicable

Exploitation Mechanism

Exploiting this vulnerability could lead to incorrect behavior in LLVM IR, impacting the overall correctness of the software.

Mitigation and Prevention

Steps to address and prevent the CVE-2020-35916 vulnerability.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update the image crate to version 0.23.12 or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
Monitor for any unusual behavior in software utilizing the image crate.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update dependencies to ensure the latest security patches are applied.
Conduct code reviews to identify and address similar vulnerabilities in the future.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security advisories related to the image crate and apply patches promptly to prevent exploitation.