We provide security updates only for the latest release of exif-oxide. Users are encouraged to keep their installations up to date to receive security fixes and improvements.

We take security vulnerabilities seriously. If you discover a security vulnerability within exif-oxide, please follow these steps:

Please do not disclose the vulnerability publicly until we have had a chance to address it.

The preferred method for reporting vulnerabilities is through GitHub's private security vulnerability reporting feature:

1. Go to the Security tab of the exif-oxide repository
2. Click "Report a vulnerability"
3. Fill out the form with as much detail as possible

If you are unable to use GitHub's security reporting feature, you can email security reports to:

• Primary: [maintainer email - to be configured]
• Please use PGP encryption if possible (key ID: [to be configured])

Please provide:

• A clear description of the vulnerability
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Affected versions
• Potential impact
• Any suggested fixes or mitigations

• Initial Response: Within 48 hours of receiving the report, we will acknowledge receipt
• Initial Assessment: Within 7 days, we will provide an initial assessment of the severity and scope
• Patch Development: We will work on developing a fix as quickly as possible, typically within 30 days for critical issues
• Coordinated Disclosure: We will coordinate with you on the disclosure timeline

1. Confirm the vulnerability for the current released version
2. Develop a fix and prepare a security patch
3. Prepare security advisory documentation
4. Release patch for the current released version
5. Submit advisory to RustSec Advisory Database
6. Update documentation to reference the advisory

• Regularly run cargo audit to check for known vulnerabilities
• Keep dependencies up to date with cargo update
• Consider using cargo-deny for more comprehensive dependency management

• Input Validation: Always validate and sanitize EXIF data before using it in security-sensitive contexts
• Memory Safety: While exif-oxide is written in Rust, be aware of potential panics when processing malformed files
• File Sources: Only process EXIF data from trusted sources when possible
• Error Handling: Always handle errors appropriately rather than unwrapping Results

exif-oxide includes several security-focused design decisions:

• Memory Safety: Written in Rust with safe code by default
• Bounds Checking: All offset calculations are bounds-checked
• Input Validation: Validates EXIF structure before processing
• Limited Recursion: Prevents stack overflow from maliciously crafted files
• No Unsafe Code: Minimizes use of unsafe blocks (currently zero unsafe code)

The following are considered security vulnerabilities:

• Memory corruption issues (buffer overflows, use-after-free, etc.)
• Denial of service through resource exhaustion
• Arbitrary code execution
• Information disclosure of sensitive data
• Crashes or panics when processing valid EXIF data

The following are generally NOT considered security vulnerabilities:

• Bugs that only affect incorrect EXIF parsing without security impact
• Performance issues that don't lead to DoS
• Issues in development dependencies
• Missing best practice features (unless they lead to vulnerabilities)

We appreciate security researchers who follow responsible disclosure practices. With your permission, we will acknowledge your contribution in:

• The security advisory
• The project's release notes
• A SECURITY_ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.md file (for significant contributions)

• Rust Security Working Group
• RustSec Advisory Database
• OWASP Secure Coding Practices