linked_list_allocator vulnerable to out-of-bound writes on `Heap` initialization and `Heap::extend`

linked_list_allocator is an allocator usable for no_std systems. Prior to version 0.10.2, the heap initialization methods were missing a minimum size check for the given heap size argument. This could lead to out-of-bound writes when a heap was initialized with a size smaller than `3 * size_of::<usize>` because of metadata write operations. This vulnerability impacts all the initialization functions on the `Heap` and `LockedHeap` types, including `Heap::new`, `Heap::init`, `Heap::init_from_slice`, and `LockedHeap::new`. It also affects multiple uses of the `Heap::extend` method. Version 0.10.2 contains a patch for the issue. As a workaround, ensure that the heap is only initialized with a size larger than `3 * size_of::<usize>` and that the `Heap::extend` method is only called with sizes larger than `2 * size_of::<usize>()`. Also, ensure that the total heap size is (and stays) a multiple of `2 * size_of::<usize>()`.

Source published

7 Sep 2022 22:50:09 UTC

Source modified

22 Apr 2025 17:23:22 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

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CVSS 3.1 · 8.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H