CVE-2024-43806: Rustix is a set of safe Rust bindings to POSIX-ish APIs.

Rustix is a set of safe Rust bindings to POSIX-ish APIs.

Rustix is a set of safe Rust bindings to POSIX-ish APIs. When using `rustix::fs::Dir` using the `linux_raw` backend, it's possible for the iterator to "get stuck" when an IO error is encountered. Combined with a memory over-allocation issue in `rustix::fs::Dir::read_more`, this can cause quick and unbounded memory explosion (gigabytes in a few seconds if used on a hot path) and eventually lead to an OOM crash of the application. The symptoms were initially discovered in https://github.com/imsnif/bandwhich/issues/284. That post has lots of details of our investigation. Full details can be read on the GHSA-c827-hfw6-qwvm repo advisory. If a program tries to access a directory with its file descriptor after the file has been unlinked (or any other action that leaves the `Dir` iterator in the stuck state), and the implementation does not break after seeing an error, it can cause a memory explosion. As an example, Linux's various virtual file systems (e.g. `/proc`, `/sys`) can contain directories that spontaneously pop in and out of existence. Attempting to iterate over them using `rustix::fs::Dir` directly or indirectly (e.g. with the `procfs` crate) can trigger this fault condition if

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by GitHub

What it means for a small business

If your business uses rustix, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.48%, higher than 41% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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