CVE-2024-11991

Uninitialized memory access in Motoko incremental garbage collector

Description

Motoko's incremental garbage collector is impacted by an uninitialized memory access bug, caused by incorrect use of write barriers in a few locations. This vulnerability could potentially allow unauthorized read or write access to a Canister's memory. However, exploiting this bug requires the Canister to enable the incremental garbage collector or enhanced orthogonal persistence, which are non-default features in Motoko.

Remediation

Workaround:

  • Disable incremental garbage collector and enhanced orthogonal persistence. i.e. do not compile with —incremental-gc or --enhanced-orthogonal-persistence options.

Category

5.6
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.03%
Affected: Internet Computer Motoko
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://github.com/dfinity/motoko/pull/4677
https://github.com/dfinity/motoko/security/advisories/GHSA-9rhg-3qf8-hrv3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-11991?
CVE-2024-11991 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-11991?
As a workaround for remediating CVE-2024-11991: Disable incremental garbage collector and enhanced orthogonal persistence. i.e. do not compile with —incremental-gc or --enhanced-orthogonal-persistence options.
Is CVE-2024-11991 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2024-11991 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2024-11991?
CVE-2024-11991 affects Internet Computer Motoko.
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