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Ruby CVE-2013-4164

MEDIUM
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2013-11-23 secalert@redhat.com
6.8
CVSS 2.0 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, buffer size validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 6.8 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, M complexity. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 11.96%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application by sending crafted requests to the affected application.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 12.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Heap-based buffer overflow in Ruby 1.8, 1.9 before 1.9.3-p484, 2.0 before 2.0.0-p353, 2.1 before 2.1.0 preview2, and trunk before revision 43780 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 12.0%.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use memory-safe languages or bounds-checking. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, stack canaries. Use safe string functions.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), which allows attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. Heap-based buffer overflow in Ruby 1.8, 1.9 before 1.9.3-p484, 2.0 before 2.0.0-p353, 2.1 before 2.1.0 preview2, and trunk before revision 43780 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a string that is converted to a floating point value, as demonstrated using (1) the to_f method or (2) JSON.parse. Affected products include: Ruby-Lang Ruby. Version information: before 1.9.3.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.8 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
M
Confidentiality
P
Integrity
P
Availability
P

DescriptionCVE.org

Heap-based buffer overflow in Ruby 1.8, 1.9 before 1.9.3-p484, 2.0 before 2.0.0-p353, 2.1 before 2.1.0 preview2, and trunk before revision 43780 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a string that is converted to a floating point value, as demonstrated using (1) the to_f method or (2) JSON.parse.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
12.0%
Top 6% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 12.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

66
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +12
CVSS: +34
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:2.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:2.1:preview1:*:*:*:*:*:*

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