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Csv SnifferApplication · Csv Sniffer Project

CVE-2021-45686

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered in the csv-sniffer crate through 2021-01-05 for Rust. preamble_skipcount may read from uninitialized memory locations.

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 · moderate confidence

The csv-sniffer Rust crate contains a memory safety vulnerability where the preamble_skipcount function may read from uninitialized memory locations, potentially leading to information disclosure or undefined behavior. This is a critical flaw in a commonly used library component.

MitigationUpdate the csv-snitter crate to a version beyond 2021-01-05 that addresses the uninitialized memory read issue, or replace the library with a secure alternative.

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
Csv SnifferApplication
Affected:= 0.0.1= 0.1.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate csv-sniffer dependency in project
    Search your codebase for Cargo.toml and Cargo.lock files, then search for 'csv-sniffer' or 'csv_sniffer' within those files using grep or a text search
    Affected if The crate is found as a direct or transitive dependency
  2. Identify installed csv-sniffer version
    Examine the Cargo.lock file for the csv-sniffer entry and note the version number listed under [[package]] name = "csv-sniffer"
    Affected if Version is 0.0.1 or 0.1.1
  3. Verify runtime usage of csv-sniffer
    Search source code files (.rs) for 'use csv_sniffer' or 'use csv-sniffer' import statements and calls to any csv-sniffer functions at runtime
    Affected if The crate is imported and functions are called in the application code
  4. Confirm preamble_skipcount function is invoked
    Search source code for calls to preamble_skipcount or any csv-sniffer parsing functions that would trigger the vulnerable code path
    Affected if Any csv-sniffer function that triggers the preamble_skipcount code path is executed at runtime

You are affected if csv-sniffer version 0.0.1 or 0.1.1 is present as a dependency and your application actually invokes the vulnerable function at runtime.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the csv-snitter crate to a version beyond 2021-01-05 that addresses the uninitialized memory read issue, or replace the library with a secure alternative.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

csv-sniffer > 0.1.1 (verify fixed version on crates.io or rustsec.org)

  1. 1. Check the official csv-sniffer crate page on crates.io for the latest available version
  2. 2. Verify if versions higher than 0.1.1 contain the security fix for the uninitialized memory read in preamble_skipcount
  3. 3. If a fixed version exists, update your Cargo.toml dependency to specify the fixed version (e.g., csv-sniffer = "0.x.x")
  4. 4. Run cargo update csv-sniffer to update the dependency
  5. 5. Rebuild your project and run tests to ensure compatibility
  6. 6. Review the crate's changelog or security advisory on rustsec.org for confirmation the vulnerability is fixed in the new version
Caveat Check crate changelog for any breaking API changes between 0.1.1 and the fixed version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Csv Sniffer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-45686 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data