GHSA-hx6p-xpx3-jvvv CVE-2026-34941 RUSTSEC-2026-0093
Wasmtime: Heap OOB read in component model UTF-16 to latin1+utf16 string transcoding
- Severity
- 0.0 / 10
- High · CVSS 4.0
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 0.38%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 31.59% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read
- Fix
24.0.7- Upgrade wasmtime to this version or later
Description
Summary
Wasmtime contains a vulnerability where when transcoding a UTF-16 string to the latin1+utf16 component-model encoding it would incorrectly validate the byte length of the input string when performing a bounds check. Specifically the number of code units were checked instead of the byte length, which is twice the size of the code units.
This vulnerability can cause the host to read beyond the end of a WebAssembly's linear memory in an attempt to transcode nonexistent bytes. In Wasmtime's default configuration this will read unmapped memory on a guard page, terminating the process with a segfault. Wasmtime can be configured, however, without guard pages which would mean that host memory beyond the end of linear memory may be read and interpreted as UTF-16.
A host segfault is a denial-of-service vulnerability in Wasmtime, and possibly being able to read beyond the end of linear memory is additionally a vulnerability. Note that reading beyond the end of linear memory requires nonstandard configuration of Wasmtime, specifically with guard pages disabled.
Impact
This is an out-of-bounds memory access. Any user running untrusted wasm components that use cross-component string passing (with UTF-16 source and latin1+utf16 destination encodings) is affected.
- With guard pages: Denial of service. The host process crashes with SIGBUS/SIGSEGV.
- Without guard pages: Potential information disclosure. The guest can read host memory beyond its linear memory allocation.
Patches
Wasmtime 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1 have been issued to fix this bug. Users are recommended to update to these patched versions of Wasmtime. Workarounds
There is no workaround for this bug. Hosts are recommended to updated to a patched version of Wasmtime.
Affected versions
crates.io
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| wasmtime | < 24.0.7 |
24.0.7 |
| wasmtime | >= 25.0.0, < 36.0.7 |
36.0.7 |
| wasmtime | >= 37.0.0, < 42.0.2 |
42.0.2 |
| wasmtime | >= 43.0.0, < 43.0.1 |
43.0.1 |
| wasmtime | >= 0.0.0-0, < 24.0.7>= 25.0.0, < 36.0.7>= 37.0.0, < 42.0.2>= 43.0.0, < 43.0.1 |
24.0.736.0.742.0.243.0.1 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
wasmtime crates.io → 24.0.7
- cargo
cargo update -p wasmtime --precise 24.0.7
Severity breakdown
CVSS 4.0 0.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Passive
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- None
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- None
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- High
- Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
- None
- Integrity (subsequent systems)
- None
- Availability (subsequent systems)
- None
CVSS 3.1 8.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Weakness
CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
How to prevent it
- Implementation: Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright. To reduce the likelihood of introducing an out-of-bounds read, ensure that you validate and ensure correct calculations for any length argument, buffer size calculation, or offset. Be especially careful of relying on a sentinel (i.e. special character such as NUL) in untrusted inputs.
- Architecture and Design: Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
References
Advisories
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| RUSTSEC-2026-0424 Unchecked memory usage in transferring borrowed resources between components | Not rated yet | Also affects wasmtime |
| RUSTSEC-2026-0423 Cross-engine type confusion with host-created struct-types-with-supertypes | Not rated yet | Also affects wasmtime |
| RUSTSEC-2026-0422 Typed functions with `i31` or `nullref` arguments may panic due to insufficient type-check | Low | Also affects wasmtime |
| RUSTSEC-2026-0379 Wasmtime: Cranelift backend on aarch64 can jump to incorrect target on large Wasm `br_table` instruction | Critical | Also affects wasmtime |
| GHSA-9pvw-hwfg-92h5 Wasmtime: Panic lowering a host-created component model stream into a guest that expects a different payload type | Medium | Also affects wasmtime |
| GHSA-897f-g5gm-fmxm Wasmtime: Bit-packing in Cranelift compiler causes silent overflow and miscompilation | Critical | Also affects wasmtime |
| RUSTSEC-2026-0364 Exception tags can cause host data structures to be unaligned | Not rated yet | Also affects wasmtime |
| RUSTSEC-2026-0363 Component-model handle tables are capped only per instance and charged to no limit | Medium | Also affects wasmtime |
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