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Rust Supply Chain Attack Puts Build-Time Malware in Crates with 245 Million Downloads

The Hacker News
Actively Exploited
Malware

Overview

The Rust Project recently took action against a supply chain attack that involved three popular Rust crates: arrayref 0.3.10, internment 0.8.7, and append-only-vec 0.1.9. A compromised maintainer account published these versions, which included a typosquatted dependency that executed a remote payload during the build process. This incident is concerning because the affected crates collectively have been downloaded 245 million times, potentially exposing numerous projects to malicious code. By removing the compromised versions from crates.io, the Rust Project aims to protect developers and users from the risks associated with this type of malware. The incident underscores the importance of security in open-source software development, especially as reliance on such packages continues to grow.

Key Takeaways

  • Active Exploitation: This vulnerability is being actively exploited by attackers. Immediate action is recommended.
  • Affected Systems: arrayref 0.3.10, internment 0.8.7, append-only-vec 0.1.9
  • Action Required: Malicious versions of the affected crates have been deleted from crates.
  • Timeline: Disclosed on October 2023

Original Article Summary

The Rust Project has deleted malicious versions of three widely used Rust crates from crates.io after a compromised maintainer account published releases that added a typosquatted dependency whose build script downloaded and executed a remote payload during compilation. The affected releases are arrayref 0.3.10, internment 0.8.7, and append-only-vec 0.1.9, all published from the same owner

Impact

arrayref 0.3.10, internment 0.8.7, append-only-vec 0.1.9

Exploitation Status

This vulnerability is confirmed to be actively exploited by attackers in real-world attacks. Organizations should prioritize patching or implementing workarounds immediately.

Timeline

Disclosed on October 2023

Remediation

Malicious versions of the affected crates have been deleted from crates.io. Users should ensure they are using safe versions of these crates.

Additional Information

This threat intelligence is aggregated from trusted cybersecurity sources. For the most up-to-date information, technical details, and official vendor guidance, please refer to the original article linked below.

Related Topics: This incident relates to Malware.

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