A malicious coder can get unsound access to TCell or TLCell memoryGHSA-9c9f-7x9p-4wqp
GHSA-9c9f-7x9p-4wqp is a security vulnerability in qcell. A fix is available for qcell — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Real-World Exposure
qcellReal-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
This is impossible to do by accident, but by carefully constructing
marker types to be covariant, a malicious coder can cheat the
singleton check in TCellOwner and TLCellOwner, giving unsound
access to cell memory. This could take the form of getting two
mutable references to the same memory, or a mutable reference and an
immutable reference.
The fix is for the crate to internally force the marker type to be invariant. This blocks the conversion between covariant types which Rust normally allows.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | qcell | all versions | 0.4.3cargo update -p qcell --precise 0.4.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for qcell, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update qcell to 0.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9c9f-7x9p-4wqp 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-9c9f-7x9p-4wqp in your dependencies?
Find it across crates.io, including transitive dependencies.