Critical Rust Flaw Poses Exploit Threat in Specific Windows Use Cases>
Dark Reading – Robert Lemos
The Rust Project has released an update for its standard library to address a vulnerability (CVE-2024-24576) in a function used to execute batch files on Windows systems
The vulnerability was discovered by a researcher who found that the function, part of the Command API, did not adequately process inputs, potentially allowing for code injection
Key points:
1) While Rust is known for its memory-safety features, this incident highlights that the language is not immune to logic bugs.
2) The vulnerability affects the Command API, which allows developers to send batch files to Windows machines for processing.
3) The issue stems from Windows not adhering to any standard, making it difficult for the Rust Project to prevent the execution of all arguments.
4) The Rust Project quickly resolved the issue, proving responsive to security concerns
However, they could not completely eliminate the problem, so the Command API will now return an error when any arguments passed to the function could be unsafe.
5) Experts suggest that Rust should broaden its use of static application security testing and expand the use of fuzzing and dynamic testing to address logical bugs and input validation flaws.
6) The vulnerability is ultimately an issue with Windows batch-processing and may affect other programming languages if they do not adequately parse the arguments sent to the Windows batch process.
7) Despite this incident, Rust remains on the right track by emphasizing memory safety and encouraging rigorous testing practices.
Link: https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/critical-rust-flaw-poses-exploit-threat-in-specific-windows-use-cases