GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x
HIGHGHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-16 vulnerability in cargo. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Cargo prior to Rust 1.26.0 may download the wrong dependency
Blast Radius
cargoReal-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
Cargo prior to Rust 1.26.0 may download the wrong dependency if your package.toml file uses the package configuration key. Usage of the package key to rename dependencies in Cargo.toml is ignored in Rust 1.25.0 and prior. When Rust 1.25.0 and prior is used Cargo may download the wrong dependency, which could be squatted on crates.io to be a malicious package. This not only affects manifests that you write locally yourself, but also manifests published to crates.io. Rust 1.0.0 through Rust 1.25.0 is affected by this advisory because Cargo will ignore the package key in manifests. Rust 1.26.0 through Rust 1.30.0 are not affected and typically will emit an error because the package key is unstable. Rust 1.31.0 and after are not affected because Cargo understands the package key. Users of the affected versions are strongly encouraged to update their compiler to the latest available one. Preventing this issue from happening requires updating your compiler to be either Rust 1.26.0 or newer. There will be no point release for Rust versions prior to 1.26.0. Users of Rust 1.19.0 to Rust 1.25.0 can instead apply linked patches to mitigate the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | cargo | all versions | 0.27.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cargo. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update cargo to 0.27.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x. 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-9f3p-wvj7-q82x in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x across crates.io dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.