GHSA-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4
HIGHExternally Controlled Format String in Scripting Functions
Blast Radius
surrealdbReal-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
The rquickjs crate used by SurrealDB implements Rust bindings to the QuickJS C library and is used to execute SurrealDB scripting functions. The rquickjs function Exception::throw_type takes a string and returns an error object. Prior to version 0.4.2 of the crate, this string would be fed directly into printf, which will receive the error string as a format string with no additional arguments, leading to undefined behavior. This issue triggers when a SurrealDB scripting function returns an error and its input contains a format string such as %s or %d.
This vulnerability can only affect SurrealDB servers explicitly enabling the scripting capability with --allow-scripting or --allow-all and equivalent environment variables SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_SCRIPT=true and SURREAL_CAPS_ALLOW_ALL=true.
Impact
An attacker with privileges to execute scripting functions with arbitrary inputs may be able to exploit this format string vulnerability in order read arbitrary memory from the remote SurrealDB process. A format string vulnerability may also be further exploited to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the SurrealDB process.
The fact that error messages are limited to 256 bytes coupled with exploit mitigation features supported in Rust executables may somewhat increase the complexity of exploiting this vulnerability to reliably achieve remote code execution in practice.
Patches
- Version 1.1.1 and later are not affected by this issue.
Workarounds
Users unable to update should restrict access from untrusted users to define and execute scripting functions. This can be achieved by removing the scripting capability by default or with --deny-scripting and equivalent environment variable SURREAL_CAPS_DENY_SCRIPT=true. If not possible, network access should be limited to trusted users.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | surrealdb | all versions | 1.1.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for surrealdb. 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 surrealdb to 1.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4 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-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4 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-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4. 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-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-q3gg-m8hr-h4x4 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.