CVE-2025-53901 is a low-severity (CVSS 3.5) CWE-672 vulnerability in wasmtime-wasi. A fix is available for wasmtime-wasi — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Wasmtime has host panic with `fd_renumber` WASIp1 function
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-53901.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
wasmtime-wasi🦀wasmtime-wasi🦀wasmtime-wasi🦀wasmtime🦀wasmtime🦀wasmtimeReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Wasmtime is a runtime for WebAssembly. Prior to versions 24.0.4, 33.0.2, and 34.0.2, a bug in Wasmtime's implementation of the WASIp1 set of import functions can lead to a WebAssembly guest inducing a panic in the host (embedder). The specific bug is triggered by calling path_open after calling fd_renumber with either two equal argument values or a second argument being equal to a previously-closed file descriptor number value. The corrupt state introduced in fd_renumber will lead to the subsequent opening of a file descriptor to panic. This panic cannot introduce memory unsafety or allow WebAssembly to break outside of its sandbox, however. There is no possible heap corruption or memory unsafety from this panic. This bug is in the implementation of Wasmtime's wasmtime-wasi crate which provides an implementation of WASIp1. The bug requires a specially crafted call to fd_renumber in addition to the ability to open a subsequent file descriptor. Opening a second file descriptor is only possible when a preopened directory was provided to the guest, and this is common amongst embeddings. A panic in the host is considered a denial-of-service vector for WebAssembly embedders and is thus a security issue in Wasmtime. This bug does not affect WASIp2 and embedders using components. In accordance with Wasmtime's release process, patch releases are available as 24.0.4, 33.0.2, and 34.0.2. Users of other release of Wasmtime are recommended to move to a supported release of Wasmtime. Embedders who are using components or are not providing guest access to create more file descriptors (e.g. via a preopened filesystem directory) are not affected by this issue. Otherwise, there is no workaround at this time, and affected embeddings are recommended to update to a patched version which will not cause a panic in the host.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime-wasi | all versions | 24.0.4cargo update -p wasmtime-wasi --precise 24.0.4 |
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime-wasi | ≥ 25.0.0&&< 33.0.2 | 33.0.2cargo update -p wasmtime-wasi --precise 33.0.2 |
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime-wasi | ≥ 34.0.0&&< 34.0.2 | 34.0.2cargo update -p wasmtime-wasi --precise 34.0.2 |
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime | ≥ 10.0.0&&< 24.0.4 | 24.0.4cargo update -p wasmtime --precise 24.0.4 |
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime | ≥ 33.0.0&&< 33.0.2 | 33.0.2cargo update -p wasmtime --precise 33.0.2 |
| 🦀crates.io | wasmtime | ≥ 34.0.0&&< 34.0.2 | 34.0.2cargo update -p wasmtime --precise 34.0.2 |
Affected Products
wasmtimebytecodeallianceDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for wasmtime-wasi, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update wasmtime-wasi to 24.0.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-53901 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-53901 in your dependencies?
Find it across crates.io, including transitive dependencies.