CVE-2015-20001Network attack vector

Memory corruption via panic-unsafe BinaryHeap sifting

Published Apr 11, 2021 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Memory corruption in Rust before 1.2.0 allows attackers to trigger invalid destruction when a BinaryHeap element comparison panics. During sift_up or sift_down_range, the implementation replaces a moved element with zeroed memory but does not restore a valid value while unwinding, so later destruction treats the zeroed bytes as an arbitrary type. Reachability requires application code to process attacker-influenced values whose ordering comparison panics; the resulting undefined behavior can corrupt memory or crash the process.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory corruption in Rust before 1.2.0 allows attackers to trigger invalid destruction when a BinaryHeap element comparison panics. During sift_up or sift_down_range, the implementation replaces a moved element with zeroed memory but does not restore a valid value while unwinding, so later destruction treats the zeroed bytes as an arbitrary type. Reachability requires application code to process attacker-influenced values whose ordering comparison panics; the resulting undefined behavior can corrupt memory or crash the process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2015-20001
Published
Apr 11, 2021
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-119, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 11, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-119Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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