ML-DSA Signature Verification Accepts Signatures with Repeated Hint Indices
The ML-DSA crate is a Rust implementation of the Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard (ML-DSA). Starting in version 0.0.4 and prior to version 0.1.0-rc.4, the ML-DSA signature verification implementation in the RustCrypto `ml-dsa` crate incorrectly accepts signatures with repeated (duplicate) hint indices. According to the ML-DSA specification (FIPS 204 / RFC 9881), hint indices within each polynomial must be **strictly increasing**. The current implementation uses a non-strict monotonic check (`<=` instead of `<`), allowing duplicate indices. This is a regression bug. The original implementation was correct, but a commit in version 0.0.4 inadvertently changed the strict `<` comparison to `<=`, introducing the vulnerability. Version 0.1.0-rc.4 fixes the issue.