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Undefined behaviour in `kvm_ioctls::ioctls::vm::VmFd::create_device`GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp

Fix: rust-vmm/kvm#298

GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp is a security vulnerability in kvm-ioctls. A fix is available for kvm-ioctls — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Also known asRUSTSEC-2024-0428
Published
Updated
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Oct 28, 2025 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
🦀kvm-ioctls

Real-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

An issue was identified in the VmFd::create_device function, leading to undefined behavior and miscompilations on rustc 1.82.0 and newer due to the function's violation of Rust's pointer safety rules.

The function downcasted a mutable reference to its struct kvm_create_device argument to an immutable pointer, and then proceeded to pass this pointer to a mutating system call. Rustc 1.82.0 and newer elides subsequent reads of this structure's fields, meaning code will not see the value written by the kernel into the fd member. Instead, the code will observe the value that this field was initialized to prior to calling VmFd::create_device (usually, 0).

The issue started in kvm-ioctls 0.1.0 and was fixed in 0.19.1 by correctly using a mutable pointer.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🦀crates.iokvm-ioctlsall versions0.19.1cargo update -p kvm-ioctls --precise 0.19.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for kvm-ioctls, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update kvm-ioctls to 0.19.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    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.

Frequently Asked Questions

An issue was identified in the `VmFd::create_device function`, leading to undefined behavior and miscompilations on rustc 1.82.0 and newer due to the function's violation of Rust's pointer safety rules. The function downcasted a mutable reference to its `struct kvm_create_device` argument to an immutable pointer, and then proceeded to pass this pointer to a mutating system call. Rustc 1.82.0 and newer elides subsequent reads of this structure's fields, meaning code will not see the value written by the kernel into the `fd` member. Instead, the code will observe the value that this field was i
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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