dbcve.org
Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2024-38525

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
dd-trace-cpp is the Datadog distributed tracing for C++. When the library fails to extract trace context due to malformed unicode, it logs the list of audited headers and their values using the `nlohmann` JSON library. However, due to the way the JSON library is invoked, it throws an uncaught exception, which results in a crash. This vulnerability has been patched in version 0.2.2.

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 confidence

The dd-trace-cpp library crashes when processing malformed unicode in trace context extraction. The error handling path attempts to log audited headers using the nlohmann JSON library, but an uncaught exception is thrown, causing the application to terminate unexpectedly.

MitigationUpgrade dd-trace-cpp to version 0.2.2 or later to receive the patch for the uncaught exception in the unicode error handling code path.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify if dd-trace-cpp is in use
    Search your codebase, dependencies, or compiled binaries for references to 'dd-trace-cpp', 'dd_tracing', or the library's trace context extraction functionality. Check your package manager or dependency lock files for this library.
    Affected if The library is present in your environment
  2. Determine the installed version
    Check your dependency manifest (package.json, CMakeLists.txt, conanfile.txt, requirements.txt, or similar) for the dd-trace-cpp version. If the library is compiled, check the binary's metadata or the version header if accessible.
    Affected if The version is 0.2.1 or earlier
  3. Verify trace context extraction is enabled
    Check your application's configuration for trace context extraction settings. Look for headers like 'traceparent', 'tracestate', or custom propagation headers being processed. Review code that handles incoming distributed trace metadata.
    Affected if Trace context extraction from HTTP headers is configured and actively processing requests
  4. Check for nlohmann JSON usage in error paths
    Search the dd-trace-cpp library code (if accessible) or review logs for evidence that nlohmann JSON library is being used during error handling of header parsing. Look for exception stack traces mentioning json or header logging.
    Affected if The library uses nlohmann JSON in error handling paths for header auditing

You are affected if dd-trace-cpp version 0.2.1 or earlier is in use and trace context extraction from HTTP headers is enabled, as malformed unicode in headers will trigger an uncaught exception during error logging.

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

Upgrade dd-trace-cpp to version 0.2.2 or later to receive the patch for the uncaught exception in the unicode error handling code path.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

0.2.2

  1. 1. Identify the current version of dd-trace-cpp in your project by checking your dependency management system (e.g., package.json, CMake, conan, or vcpkg)
  2. 2. Update the dd-trace-cpp dependency to version 0.2.2 or later
  3. 3. Rebuild your project to incorporate the updated library
  4. 4. Test your application to ensure trace context extraction works correctly and no crashes occur with malformed unicode input
  5. 5. Verify that the nlohmann JSON library is compatible with the updated dd-trace-cpp version

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,340
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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-2024-38525 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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