GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 — rustc-serialize
GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 is a remote code execution vulnerability in rustc-serialize. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
Stack overflow in rustc_serialize when parsing deeply nested JSON
Real-World Exposure
rustc-serializeReal-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
When parsing JSON using json::Json::from_str, there is no limit to the depth of the stack, therefore deeply nested objects can cause a stack overflow, which aborts the process.
Example code that triggers the vulnerability is
fn main() {
let _ = rustc_serialize::json::Json::from_str(&"[0,[".repeat(10000));
}
serde is recommended as a replacement to rustc_serialize.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | rustc-serialize | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rustc-serialize, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of rustc-serialize has shipped for GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2226-4v3c-cff8 across crates.io dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.