# CVE-2020-36464: Use after free in heapless

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the heapless crate allows attackers to cause memory corruption or crashes via improper cloning of partially consumed iterators.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qgwf-r2jj-2ccv, RUSTSEC-2020-0145

## What is CVE-2020-36464?

CVE-2020-36464 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Aug 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in the heapless crate before 0.6.1 for Rust. The IntoIter Clone implementation clones an entire underlying Vec without considering whether it has already been partially consumed.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36464?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including heapless. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `heapless` | crates.io | All versions | 0.6.1 |
| `heapless` | crates.io | All versions | 0.6.1 |
| `heapless` | crates.io | From 0.0.0-0 | 0.6.1 |

Products: Heapless Project Heapless.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-36464?

Upgrade heapless to 0.6.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2020-36464 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36464 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36464 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36464 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Aug 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36464 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- heapless (crates.io): affected all versions; fixed in 0.6.1
- heapless (crates.io): affected all versions; fixed in 0.6.1
- heapless (crates.io): affected from 0.0.0-0; fixed in 0.6.1

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36464/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36464/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36464
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36464
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36464

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36464/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.