Ruby on Rails: IT security warning about a new vulnerability

The Federal Office for Security in der Informationstechnik (BSI) published an update on April 28th, 2023 to a vulnerability for Ruby on Rails that became known on September 10th, 2020. The operating systems UNIX, Linux and MacOS X as well as the products Debian Linux, SUSE Linux and open source Ruby on Rails are affected by the vulnerability.

The latest manufacturer recommendations regarding updates, workarounds and security patches for this vulnerability can be found here: SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2023:2059-1 (Status: 04/27/2023). Other useful links are listed later in this article.

Security Advisory for Ruby on Rails – Risk: medium

Risk level: 3 (medium)
CVSS Base Score: 6,8
CVSS Temporal Score: 5,9
Remoteangriff: Ja

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is used to assess the vulnerability of computer systems. The CVSS standard makes it possible to compare potential or actual security gaps based on various metrics in order to create a priority list based on this for initiating countermeasures. The attributes “none”, “low”, “medium”, “high” and “critical” are used for the severity of a vulnerability. The base score assesses the prerequisites for an attack (including authentication, complexity, privileges, user interaction) and its consequences. With the temporal score, framework conditions that change over time are included in the evaluation. According to the CVSS, the risk of the vulnerability discussed here is rated as “medium” with a base score of 6.8.

Ruby on Rails Bug: Vulnerability enables cross-site scripting

Ruby on Rails is an open-source web application framework written in the Ruby programming language.

A remote, anonymous attacker can exploit a vulnerability in Ruby on Rails to perform a cross-site scripting attack.

The vulnerability is identified with the unique CVE identification number (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) CVE-2020-15169 traded.

Systems affected by the vulnerability at a glance

operating systems
UNIX, Linux, MacOS X

Products
Debian Linux (cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux)
SUSE Linux (cpe:/o:suse:suse_linux)
Open Source Ruby on Rails < 5.2.4.4 (cpe:/a:rubyonrails:ruby_on_rails)
Open Source Ruby on Rails < 6.0.3.3 (cpe:/a:rubyonrails:ruby_on_rails)

General recommendations for dealing with IT vulnerabilities

1. Users of the affected applications should keep them up to date. When security gaps become known, manufacturers are required to remedy them as quickly as possible by developing a patch or a workaround. If new security updates are available, install them promptly.

2. For information, consult the sources listed in the next section. These often contain further information on the latest version of the software in question and the availability of security patches or tips on workarounds.

3. If you have any further questions or are uncertain, please contact your responsible administrator. IT security officers should regularly check when the IT security warning affected manufacturers makes a new security update available.

Sources for updates, patches and workarounds

Here you will find further links with information about bug reports, security fixes and workarounds.

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2023:2059-1 vom 2023-04-27 (28.04.2023)
For more information, see: https://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2023-April/014619.html

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:3897-1 vom 2020-12-21 (22.12.2020)
For more information, see: https://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-December/008099.html

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:3309-1 vom 2020-11-12 (13.11.2020)
For more information, see: https://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-November/007763.html

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:3160-1 vom 2020-11-05 (06.11.2020)
For more information, see: https://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-November/007702.html

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:3147-1 vom 2020-11-04 (05.11.2020)
For more information, see: https://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-November/007691.html

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:3036-1 vom 2020-10-26 (27.10.2020)
For more information, see: http://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-October/007625.html

Debian Security Advisory DLA-2403 vom 2020-10-09 (12.10.2020)
For more information, see: https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/debian-lts-announce-202010/msg00015.html

Debian Security Advisory DSA-4766 vom 2020-09-25 (25.09.2020)
For more information, see: https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4766

SUSE Security Update SUSE-SU-2020:2686-1 vom 2020-09-21 (22.09.2020)
For more information, see: http://lists.suse.com/pipermail/sle-security-updates/2020-September/007446.html

Rails 5.2.4.4 and 6.0.3.3 release notes dated 2020-09-09 (10.09.2020)
For more information, see: https://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2020/9/10/Rails-5-2-4-4-and-6-0-3-3-have-been-released/

Version history of this security alert

This is the 10th version of this IT security notice for Ruby on Rails. This text will be updated as further updates are announced. You can understand the changes made using the following version history.

09/10/2020 – Initial version
09/22/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
09/25/2020 – Added new updates from Debian
10/12/2020 – Added new updates from Debian
10/27/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
11/05/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
11/06/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
11/13/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
12/22/2020 – Added new updates from SUSE
04/28/2023 – Added new updates from SUSE

+++ Editorial note: This text was created with AI support based on current BSI data. We accept feedback and comments at [email protected]. +++

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