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Rubygems CVE-2022-29218

HIGH
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2022-05-13 security-advisories@github.com
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: 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 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 1.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

RubyGems is a package registry used to supply software for the Ruby language ecosystem. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply principle of least privilege, validate privilege transitions, implement proper role separation.

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 Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269), which allows attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access. RubyGems is a package registry used to supply software for the Ruby language ecosystem. An ordering mistake in the code that accepts gem uploads allowed some gems (with platforms ending in numbers, like arm64-darwin-21) to be temporarily replaced in the CDN cache by a malicious package. The bug has been patched, and is believed to have never been exploited, based on an extensive review of logs and existing gems by rubygems. The easiest way to ensure that an application has not been exploited by this vulnerability is to verify all downloaded .gems checksums match the checksum recorded in the RubyGems.org database. RubyGems.org has been patched and is no longer vulnerable to this issue. Affected products include: Rubygems Rubygems.Org.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

DescriptionNVD

RubyGems is a package registry used to supply software for the Ruby language ecosystem. An ordering mistake in the code that accepts gem uploads allowed some gems (with platforms ending in numbers, like arm64-darwin-21) to be temporarily replaced in the CDN cache by a malicious package. The bug has been patched, and is believed to have never been exploited, based on an extensive review of logs and existing gems by rubygems. The easiest way to ensure that an application has not been exploited by this vulnerability is to verify all downloaded .gems checksums match the checksum recorded in the RubyGems.org database. RubyGems.org has been patched and is no longer vulnerable to this issue.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.2%
Top 35% 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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 1.2%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

59
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +38
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:rubygems:rubygems.org:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2017-0899 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Aug 31

RubyGems version 2.6.12 and earlier is vulnerable to maliciously crafted gem specifications that include terminal escape

CVE-2017-0901 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 31

RubyGems version 2.6.12 and earlier fails to validate specification names, allowing a maliciously crafted gem to potenti

CVE-2017-0900 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 31

RubyGems version 2.6.12 and earlier is vulnerable to maliciously crafted gem specifications to cause a denial of service

CVE-2017-0902 HIGH POC
8.1 Aug 31

RubyGems version 2.6.12 and earlier is vulnerable to a DNS hijacking vulnerability that allows a MITM attacker to force

CVE-2012-2140 HIGH POC
7.5 Jul 18

The Mail gem before 2.4.3 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a (

CVE-2013-2615 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 20

lib/entry_controller.rb in the fastreader Gem 1.0.8 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via s

CVE-2019-8320 HIGH POC
7.4 Jun 06

A Directory Traversal issue was discovered in RubyGems 2.7.6 and later through 3.0.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), th

CVE-2017-0903 CRITICAL
9.8 Oct 11

RubyGems versions between 2.0.0 and 2.6.13 are vulnerable to a possible remote code execution vulnerability. Rated criti

CVE-2013-0269 HIGH
7.5 Feb 13

The JSON gem before 1.5.5, 1.6.x before 1.6.8, and 1.7.x before 1.7.7 for Ruby allows remote attackers to cause a denial

CVE-2018-1000076 CRITICAL
9.8 Mar 13

RubyGems version Ruby 2.2 series: 2.2.9 and earlier, Ruby 2.3 series: 2.3.6 and earlier, Ruby 2.4 series: 2.4.3 and earl

CVE-2012-2139 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Jul 18

Directory traversal vulnerability in lib/mail/network/delivery_methods/file_delivery.rb in the Mail gem before 2.4.4 for

CVE-2026-105221 CRITICAL
9.1 Oct 04

Improper TLS certificate validation in the gist RubyGem before 6.1.0 allows an on-path attacker to intercept and alter e

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