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.
CVE-2023-38497
This high-severity CVE scores 7.9 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 5.8%, top 9% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 7.9
- EG Score
- 7.9(medium)
- EPSS
- 52.0%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
August 4, 2023
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (16)
- security-advisories@githubhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/commit/d78bbf4bde3c6b95caca7512f537c6f9721426ff
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/12443
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/security/advisories/GHSA-j3xp-wfr4-hx87
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/rust-lang/wg-security-response/tree/main/patches/CVE-2023-38497
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGKE6PGM4HIQUHPJRBQAHMELINSGN4H4/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QMEXGUGPW5OBSQA6URTBNDSU3RAEFOZ4/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.rust-lang.org/policies/security
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/commit/d78bbf4bde3c6b95caca7512f537c6f9721426ff
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/12443
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/security/advisories/GHSA-j3xp-wfr4-hx87
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/rust-lang/wg-security-response/tree/main/patches/CVE-2023-38497
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGKE6PGM4HIQUHPJRBQAHMELINSGN4H4/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QMEXGUGPW5OBSQA6URTBNDSU3RAEFOZ4/
Patch Availability(6)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | cargo-doc (0.67.1+ds0ubuntu0.libgit2-0ubuntu0.20.04.2+esm1) @ focal | 2026-05-24 | ubuntu |
| redhat | rust-toolset:rhel8-8060020240312174911.aeeed864 | 2024-05-28 | redhat |
| redhat | rust-0:1.58.1-1.el9_0.1 | 2024-05-28 | redhat |
| redhat | rust-toolset-1.66-rust-0:1.66.1-2.el7_9 | 2023-08-15 | redhat |
| redhat | rust-toolset:rhel8-8080020230807230209.0a78da64 | 2023-08-14 | redhat |
| redhat | rust-0:1.66.1-2.el9_2 | 2023-08-14 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
crates.io(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| cargo | — | 0.72.2 | — |
Weakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
All Vendor Advisories
(7)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
- Microsoft MSRCCVE-2023-384972023-09-01
Cargo not respecting umask when extracting crate archives
- Red HatRHSA-2023:4634IMPORTANT2023-08-03
RHSA-2023:4634 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2023:4635IMPORTANT2023-08-03
RHSA-2023:4635 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2023:4651IMPORTANT2023-08-03
RHSA-2023:4651 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2024:3418IMPORTANT2023-08-03
RHSA-2024:3418 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2024:3428IMPORTANT2023-08-03
RHSA-2024:3428 — Important
- UbuntuUSN-6275-1MEDIUM
Cargo vulnerability
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 11× in last 7d / 51× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 111 total refreshes for this CVE.
- 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-10 00:47 UTCOSV refresh
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2023-38497?
When was CVE-2023-38497 disclosed?
Is CVE-2023-38497 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-38497?
How do I remediate CVE-2023-38497?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2023-38497
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2023-38497?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.