CVE-2020-8151: Activeresource Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-46j2-xjgp-jrfm
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-200 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-8151 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Activeresource libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves information disclosure issue in active resource. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.1.1.

CVE-2020-8151 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-8151
GHSA Identifier GHSA-46j2-xjgp-jrfm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Activeresource
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-8151

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Activeresource dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

activeresource fixed: 5.1.1 
Upgrade activeresource to 5.1.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for activeresource

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-8151, inspect your project dependencies for Activeresource:

inspect dependencies for activeresource

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Activeresource in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.1.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Activeresource, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

There is a possible information disclosure issue in Active Resource <v5.1.1 that could allow an attacker to create specially crafted requests to access data in an unexpected way and possibly leak information.

CVE-2020-8151 Affected Activeresource Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.1.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
activeresource
gem/activeresource
RubyGems
≥ 3.0.0.rc
< 5.1.1
5.1.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-8151 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8151
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/activeresource/commit/0de18f7e96fa90bbf23b16ac11980bc2cb6a716e
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/0e969bdaf8ff2e3384350687aa0b583f94d6dfbc
Activeresource Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rails/activeresource
groups.google.com/forum/ WEB
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rubyonrails-security/pktoF4VmiM8
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/P7B7A4H22DZ522HLDS3JX3NX2CXIOZSR

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-8151?
CVE-2020-8151 is a security vulnerability in Activeresource involving Information disclosure issue in Active Resource under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Activeresource versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.1.1 across affected packages: activeresource.
What version fixes CVE-2020-8151?
Upgrading to 5.1.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is activeresource affected?
Yes, activeresource is affected in releases prior to 5.1.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.1.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-8151?
CVE-2020-8151 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-8151?
CVE-2020-8151 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2020-8151?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for activeresource'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-46j2-xjgp-jrfm",
  "modified" : "2025-03-31T17:22:29Z",
  "published" : "2020-05-21T21:09:38Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-8151" ],
  "summary" : "Information disclosure issue in Active Resource",
  "details" : "There is a possible information disclosure issue in Active Resource <v5.1.1 that could allow an attacker to create specially crafted requests to access data in an unexpected way and possibly leak information.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "activeresource"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0.rc"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.1.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8151"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/activeresource/commit/0de18f7e96fa90bbf23b16ac11980bc2cb6a716e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/0e969bdaf8ff2e3384350687aa0b583f94d6dfbc"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/activeresource"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rubyonrails-security/pktoF4VmiM8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/P7B7A4H22DZ522HLDS3JX3NX2CXIOZSR"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-05-21T17:46:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-05-12T13:15:00Z"
  }
}