GHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w — rage
Fix: str4d/rage@703152eGHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w is a security vulnerability in rage. A fix is available for rage — see the affected versions and patch details below.
rage vulnerable to malicious plugin names, recipients, or identities causing arbitrary binary execution
Real-World Exposure
rage🦀age🦀age🦀age🦀age🦀age🦀age🦀rage+4 moreReal-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
A plugin name containing a path separator may allow an attacker to execute an arbitrary binary.
Such a plugin name can be provided to the rage CLI through an attacker-controlled recipient or identity string, or to the following age APIs when the plugin feature flag is enabled:
age::plugin::Identity::from_str(or equivalentlystr::parse::<age::plugin::Identity>())age::plugin::Identity::default_for_pluginage::plugin::IdentityPluginV1::newage::plugin::Recipient::from_str(or equivalentlystr::parse::<age::plugin::Recipient>())age::plugin::RecipientPluginV1::new
On UNIX systems, a directory matching age-plugin-* needs to exist in the working directory for the attack to succeed.
The binary is executed with a single flag, either --age-plugin=recipient-v1 or --age-plugin=identity-v1. The standard input includes the recipient or identity string, and the random file key (if encrypting) or the header of the file (if decrypting). The format is constrained by the age-plugin protocol.
An equivalent issue was fixed in the reference Go implementation of age, see advisory GHSA-32gq-x56h-299c.
Thanks to ⬡-49016 for reporting this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | rage | ≥ 0.6.0&&< 0.6.1 | 0.6.1cargo update -p rage --precise 0.6.1 |
| 🦀crates.io | age | ≥ 0.6.0&&< 0.6.1 | 0.6.1cargo update -p age --precise 0.6.1 |
| 🦀crates.io | age | ≥ 0.7.0&&< 0.7.2 | 0.7.2cargo update -p age --precise 0.7.2 |
| 🦀crates.io | age | ≥ 0.8.0&&< 0.8.2 | 0.8.2cargo update -p age --precise 0.8.2 |
| 🦀crates.io | age | ≥ 0.9.0&&< 0.9.3 | 0.9.3cargo update -p age --precise 0.9.3 |
| 🦀crates.io | age | ≥ 0.10.0&&< 0.10.1 | 0.10.1cargo update -p age --precise 0.10.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rage, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update rage to 0.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w. 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-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-4fg7-vxc8-qx5w across crates.io dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.