CVE-2018-25026 – This vulnerability in the actix-web Rust crate ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2018-25026?

CVE-2018-25026 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability in the actix-web Rust crate before version 0.7.15 allows memory corruption by incorrectly marking objects as thread-safe when they are not. Attackers can exploit this to cause crashes, data corruption, or potentially execute arbitrary code. Any Rust application using vulnerable versions of actix-web is affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in the actix-web Rust crate before version 0.7.15 allows memory corruption by incorrectly marking objects as thread-safe when they are not. Attackers can exploit this to cause crashes, data corruption, or potentially execute arbitrary code. Any Rust application using vulnerable versions of actix-web is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

actix-web Rust crate

Versions: All versions before 0.7.15

Operating Systems: All platforms running Rust applications

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Any Rust application using actix-web for web services is vulnerable regardless of configuration.

📦 What is this software?

Actix Web by Actix

View all CVEs affecting Actix Web →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or service disruption.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crashes, denial of service, or memory corruption leading to unpredictable behavior.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper segmentation and minimal privileges, but still risk of crashes.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Memory corruption vulnerabilities in web frameworks are frequently exploited.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 0.7.15 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Cargo.toml to require actix-web >=0.7.15. 2. Run 'cargo update' to fetch the patched version. 3. Rebuild and redeploy your application.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Downgrade to unaffected version

all

Use actix-web version 0.6.x which is not affected by this specific vulnerability

cargo update -p actix-web --precise 0.6.15

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Isolate affected applications behind firewalls with strict network controls
Implement rate limiting and request filtering to reduce attack surface

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Cargo.lock for actix-web version <0.7.15

Check Version:

grep actix-web Cargo.lock

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify Cargo.lock shows actix-web >=0.7.15

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes, segmentation faults, abnormal memory usage patterns

Network Indicators:

Unusual HTTP request patterns targeting actix-web endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="application.logs" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "memory corruption" OR "actix-web")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2018-25026

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-787

Published: December 27, 2021

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/actix-web/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.md Third Party Advisory
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.html Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustsec/advisory-db/main/crates/actix-web/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.md Third Party Advisory
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.html Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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