Wasmtime is a runtime for WebAssembly. Prior to 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1, 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 WebAssemblys linear memory in an attempt to transcode nonexistent bytes. In Wasmtimes 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. This vulnerability is fixed in 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1.
Weakness
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasmtime | Bytecodealliance | * | 24.0.7 (excluding) |
| Wasmtime | Bytecodealliance | 25.0.0 (including) | 36.0.7 (excluding) |
| Wasmtime | Bytecodealliance | 37.0.0 (including) | 42.0.2 (excluding) |
| Wasmtime | Bytecodealliance | 43.0.0 (including) | 43.0.1 (excluding) |
| Rust-wasmtime | Ubuntu | questing | * |
Potential Mitigations
- 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.