CVE-2024-7884

CVE-2024-7884 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dfinity Canister Developer Kit For The Internet Computer with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-401.

Key facts

Description

When a canister method is called via ic_cdk::call* , a new Future CallFuture is created and can be awaited by the caller to get the execution result. Internally, the state of the Future is tracked and stored in a struct called CallFutureState. A bug in the polling implementation of the CallFuture allows multiple references to be held for this internal state and not all references were dropped before the Future is resolved. Since we have unaccounted references held, a copy of the internal state ended up being persisted in the canister's heap and thus causing a memory leak. Impact Canisters built in Rust with ic_cdk and ic_cdk_timers are affected. If these canisters call a canister method, use timers or heartbeat, they will likely leak a small amount of memory on every such operation. In the worst case, this could lead to heap memory exhaustion triggered by an attacker. Motoko based canisters are not affected by the bug. PatchesThe patch has been backported to all minor versions between >= 0.8.0, <= 0.15.0. The patched versions available are 0.8.2, 0.9.3, 0.10.1, 0.11.6, 0.12.2, 0.13.5, 0.14.1, 0.15.1 and their previous versions have been yanked. WorkaroundsThere are no known workarounds at the moment. Developers are recommended to upgrade their canister as soon as possible to the latest available patched version of ic_cdk to avoid running out of Wasm heap memory. Upgrading the canisters (without updating `ic_cdk`) also frees the leaked memory but it's only a temporary solution.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-7884?
When a canister method is called via ic_cdk::call* , a new Future CallFuture is created and can be awaited by the caller to get the execution result. Internally, the state of the Future is tracked and stored in a struct called CallFutureState. A bug in the polling implementation of the CallFuture allows multiple references to be held for this internal state and not all references were dropped before the Future is resolved. Since we have unaccounted references held, a copy of the internal state ended up being persisted in the canister's heap and thus causing a memory leak. Impact Canisters built in Rust with ic_cdk and ic_cdk_timers are affected. If these canisters call a canister method, use timers or heartbeat, they will likely leak a small amount of memory on every such operation. In the worst case, this could lead to heap memory exhaustion triggered by an attacker. Motoko based canisters are not affected by the bug. PatchesThe patch has been backported to all minor versions between >= 0.8.0, <= 0.15.0. The patched versions available are 0.8.2, 0.9.3, 0.10.1, 0.11.6, 0.12.2, 0.13.5, 0.14.1, 0.15.1 and their previous versions have been yanked. WorkaroundsThere are no known workarounds at the moment. Developers are recommended to upgrade their canister as soon as possible to the latest available patched version of ic_cdk to avoid running out of Wasm heap memory. Upgrading the canisters (without updating `ic_cdk`) also frees the leaked memory but it's only a temporary solution.
How severe is CVE-2024-7884?
CVE-2024-7884 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2024-7884 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (48th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2024-7884?
CVE-2024-7884 primarily affects Dfinity Canister Developer Kit For The Internet Computer. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2024-7884?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2024-7884 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2024-7884 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2024-2871.
When was CVE-2024-7884 published?
CVE-2024-7884 was published on 2024-09-05 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

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