Cargo prior to Rust 1.26.0 may download the wrong dependency
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-494.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rust | cargo | 1.0.0 to before 1.26.0 | 1.26.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | cargo (crates.io) | before 0.27.0 | 0.27.0 | Patch available | GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x |
- cargo Vendorrust Affected 1.0.0 to before 1.26.0 Fixed in 1.26.0 Patch available CNA
- cargo (crates.io) Vendor— Affected before 0.27.0 Fixed in 0.27.0 Patch available GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x
Remediation
- Fix · CNA cargo (rust) Fixed in 1.26.0
- Fix · GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x cargo (crates.io) Fixed in 0.27.0 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2019-16760
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x
References
More rust vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-65509 pageant: Out-of-bounds read / oversized allocation in `pageant` MemoryMap::read via a malicious Pageant agent (Windows) CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.2
Sources
- CVE-2019-16760 · CVE Program
- CVE-2019-16760 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9f3p-wvj7-q82x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2019-16760 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences