DieselApplication
CVE-2021-28305
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn issue was discovered in the diesel crate before 1.4.6 for Rust. There is a use-after-free in the SQLite backend because the semantics of sqlite3_column_name are not followed.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe diesel ORM crate before 1.4.6 has a use-after-free vulnerability in its SQLite backend. The code incorrectly handles the return value from sqlite3_column_name, which returns a pointer valid only until the next sqlite3_step() or sqlite3_finalize() call. If the column name pointer is stored and accessed after the statement is advanced or finalized, it leads to use-after-free memory corruption.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
DieselApplication
< 1.4.6CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify diesel crate versionCheck your Cargo.toml file for the diesel version entry under [dependencies], or run `cargo tree -p diesel` to see the installed versionAffected if The version listed is less than 1.4.6 (e.g., 1.4.5, 1.4.4, etc.)
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Confirm SQLite backend usageCheck your Cargo.toml for diesel features: look for `default-features = false` with `features = ["sqlite"]` or similar SQLite feature flag, or inspect your database connection code for SqliteConnectionAffected if Your project uses the diesel SQLite backend (any version below 1.4.6)
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Inspect code for column metadata accessSearch your codebase for usage of `.columns()` method on diesel table definitions, or code that calls `.column_name()`, `.table_name()`, or similar metadata methods after executing queriesAffected if Code accesses column metadata (column names, table names) after query execution or statement finalization
You are affected if your project uses diesel crate version below 1.4.6 with the SQLite backend and contains code that accesses column metadata after statement execution.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped1.4.6
Upgrade diesel crate to version 1.4.6 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, avoid using the SQLite backend or implement application-level safeguards against querying column metadata after statement execution.
Diesel 1.4.6
- Update the diesel dependency in your Cargo.toml file to version 1.4.6 by changing the line to `diesel = "1.4.6"`
- Run `cargo update diesel` to fetch the updated dependency
- Run `cargo build` to compile with the fixed version
- Run your test suite to verify the application still works correctly after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Diesel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28305 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-28305 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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