The sanitize helper in lib/action_controller/vendor/html-scanner/html/sanitizer.rb in the Action Pack component in Ruby on Rails before 2.3.
The sanitize helper in lib/action_controller/vendor/html-scanner/html/sanitizer.rb in the Action Pack component in Ruby on Rails before 2.3.18, 3.0.x and 3.1.x before 3.1.12, and 3.2.x before 3.2.13 does not properly handle encoded : (colon) characters in URLs, which makes it easier for remote attackers to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via a crafted scheme name, as demonstrated by including a : sequence.
- Published
- Mar 19, 2013
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.9% · 78th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-79
Sign in to follow · You’ll be notified if a followed record enters KEV, gets an exploit or is updated.
Report tools
Action score
18
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 17 / 40 · 4.3 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 1.9%
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| redhat | enterprise linux | cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux |
| rubyonrails | rails | cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails |
| rubyonrails | ruby on rails | cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:ruby_on_rails |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- redhat enterprise linux6.0
- rubyonrails rails0.10.0
- rubyonrails rails0.10.1
- rubyonrails rails0.11.0
- rubyonrails rails0.11.1
- rubyonrails rails0.12.0
- rubyonrails rails0.12.1
- rubyonrails rails0.13.0
- rubyonrails rails0.13.1
- rubyonrails rails0.14.1
- rubyonrails rails0.14.2
- rubyonrails rails0.14.3
- rubyonrails rails0.14.4
- rubyonrails rails0.9.1
- rubyonrails rails0.9.2
- rubyonrails rails0.9.3
- rubyonrails rails0.9.4
- rubyonrails rails0.9.4.1
- rubyonrails rails1.0.0
- rubyonrails rails1.1.0
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | rails | before 2.3.14.1 | 2.3.14.1 |
| Debian:6.0 | rails | before 2.3.5-1.2+squeeze8 | 2.3.5-1.2+squeeze8 |
| Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | ruby193-rubygem-actionpack | before 1:3.2.8-5.el6 | 1:3.2.8-5.el6 |
| Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | ruby193-rubygem-actionpack-doc | before 1:3.2.8-5.el6 | 1:3.2.8-5.el6 |
| Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | rubygem-actionpack | before 1:3.0.13-8.el6op | 1:3.0.13-8.el6op |
| RubyGems | actionpack | from 3.0.0 · before 3.1.12 | 3.1.12 |
| RubyGems | actionpack | from 3.2.0 · before 3.2.13 | 3.2.13 |
| RubyGems | actionpack | before 2.3.18 | 2.3.18 |
Same product
redhat: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2015-3246libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, wKEV62This week
- CVE-2023-50387Certain DNSSEC aspects of the DNS protocol (in RFC 4033, 4034, 4035, 6840, and related RFCs) allow remote attackers to cause a denial of ser60This week
- CVE-2017-5456A mechanism to bypass file system access protections in the sandbox using the file system request constructor through an IPC message.40Plan
- CVE-2017-5428An integer overflow in "createImageBitmap()" was reported through the Pwn2Own contest.40Plan
- CVE-2021-20325Missing fixes for CVE-2021-40438 and CVE-2021-26691 in the versions of httpd, as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5.0, causes a securit39Monitor
- CVE-2008-3844Certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4 and 5 packages for OpenSSH, as signed in August 2008 using a legitimate Red Hat GPG key, contain a38Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:rails | 2.3.14.1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:ruby193-rubygem-actionpack | 1:3.2.8-5.el6 · Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:ruby193-rubygem-actionpack-doc | 1:3.2.8-5.el6 · Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rubygem-actionpack | 1:3.0.13-8.el6op · Red Hat:openshift:1::el6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| RubyGems:actionpack | 2.3.18 | Package registry (OSV) |
| RubyGems:actionpack | 3.1.12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| RubyGems:actionpack | 3.2.13 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- P · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
- Attack complexity
- M
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- P
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')CVSS vector
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
nvd-primary
Root cause
User content is inserted into the page as HTML. The browser interprets the content as code rather than data.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-79 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;Fixed
commentEl.textContent = comment.body;Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2013/Jun/msg00000.html
- lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2013/Oct/msg00006.html
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2013-04/msg00072.html
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2013-04/msg00073.html
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2014-01/msg00013.html
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-0698.html
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-1863.html
- support.apple.com/kb/HT5784
- weblog.rubyonrails.org/2013/3/18/SEC-ANN-Rails-3-2-13-3-1-12-and-2-3-18-have-been-released/
- groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-security/msg/78b9817a5943f6d6?dmode=source&output=gplain
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.