How severe is GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9?

GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 has a CVSS score of 6/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9?

GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 affects the following packages: pnet_packet (crates.io). Ecosystems affected: crates.io.

How do I fix GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9?

Update pnet_packet to 0.27.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 in my crates.io dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 was published on February 9, 2023 and was last updated on November 8, 2023. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🦀

🦀 crates.io

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 — pnet_packet

MEDIUM

GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6) vulnerability in pnet_packet. A fix is available for pnet_packet — see the affected versions and patch details below.

`pnet_packet` buffer overrun in `set_payload` setters

Also known asRUSTSEC-2020-0167

Published

Feb 9, 2023

Updated

Nov 8, 2023

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 8, 2023 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🦀pnet_packet

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

As indicated by this issue, a buffer overrun is possible in the set_payload setter of the various mutable "Packet" struct setters. The offending set_payload functions were defined within the struct impl blocks in earlier versions of the package, and later by the packet macro.

Fixed in the packet macro by this PR.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🦀crates.io	`pnet_packet`	all versions	0.27.2`cargo update -p pnet_packet --precise 0.27.2`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pnet_packet, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pnet_packet to 0.27.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 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-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

As indicated by this [issue](https://github.com/libpnet/libpnet/issues/449#issuecomment-663355987), a buffer overrun is possible in the `set_payload` setter of the various mutable "Packet" struct setters. The offending `set_payload` functions were defined within the struct `impl` blocks in earlier versions of the package, and later by the `packet` macro. Fixed in the `packet` macro by [this](https://github.com/libpnet/libpnet/pull/455) PR.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds GHSA-cf4g-fcf8-3cr9 across crates.io dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works