An insecure deserialization mechanism in Cista versions 0.15 and earlier allows untrusted input to be processed without sufficient validation. The vulnerability can expose stack and heap addresses when deserializing data that contains references to pointers managed in the cista::raw namespace. This address leakage may be used by an attacker to defeat address space layout randomization (ASLR), a common mitigation against exploit development. The core weakness is a flaw in deserialization logic that permits reference tampering, leading to potential disclosure of sensitive memory addresses.

The affected product is Cista software. All releases up to and including version 0.15 are vulnerable. No other vendors or products have been reported to be affected.

The CVSS score is 5.3, indicating moderate severity, and there is no EPSS score available; the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV. The attack vector is likely external: an attacker who can supply a crafted serialized payload to an application that uses the vulnerable Cista library can trigger the address leak. The exploit does not require privileged access and could be carried out over the network if the application accepts serialized data from untrusted sources. As the vulnerability does not immediately result in arbitrary code execution but provides information that could be leveraged for further attacks, it is important to evaluate its impact within the specific deployment context.