GitHub Advisoryadvisory · crates.io

GHSA-vfvv-c25p-m7mm rkyv: Panic safety bugs in `InlineVec::clear` and `SerVec::clear` enable arbitrary code execution

MEDIUM Published 2026-05-15 Modified 2026-05-15 Official page ↗
Ecosystem
crates.io
Packages
rkyv
Severity
Moderate
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weaknesses
CWE-415, CWE-416
Reviewed
2026-05-15

Affected packages

• crates.io rkyv: >= 0.8.0, < 0.8.16 → fixed in 0.8.16

Description

`InlineVec::clear()` and `SerVec::clear()` in `rkyv` were not panic-safe. Both functions iterate over their elements and call `drop_in_place` on each, updating `self.len` only *after* the loop. If an element's `Drop` implementation panics during the loop, `self.len` is left at its original value. A subsequent invocation of `clear()` on the same container then re-visits the already-freed elements: • `InlineVec::clear()` is called again from `InlineVec`'s own `Drop` implementation when the value is later dropped. • `SerVec::clear()` is called again by `SerVec::with_capacity()` after the user closure returns. Technical Impact • CWE-415 (Double Free): Heap corruption when element type holds `Box` • CWE-416 (Use-After-Free): Memory corruption when element reads from heap during `Drop` Both vulnerabilities are triggerable entirely from safe Rust via `std::panic::catch_unwind` and require no special privileges.

Related

Weakness · CWE (2)

References