CVE-2012-6135: Passenger RubyGems Passenger Gem Allows Remote Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8mw8-j583-vqfg
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-6135 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) rubygems passenger gem allows remote vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Passenger libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves rubygems passenger gem allows remote attackers to delete files. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.0.0.rc4.

CVE-2012-6135 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-6135
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8mw8-j583-vqfg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Passenger
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:N/I:H/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 None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2012-6135

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

passenger fixed: 4.0.0.rc4 
Upgrade passenger to 4.0.0.rc4
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 passenger

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2012-6135, inspect your project dependencies for Passenger:

inspect dependencies for passenger

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Passenger in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.0.0.rc4), 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-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Passenger, 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

RubyGems passenger 4.0.0 betas 1 and 2 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files during the startup process. Affects both open source and Enterprise versions (4.0.0.beta1, 4.0.0.beta2).

CVE-2012-6135 Affected Passenger Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.0.0.rc4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
passenger
gem/passenger
RubyGems
< 4.0.0.rc4
4.0.0.rc4

References

Passenger Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/phusion/passenger
Passenger Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/passenger/CVE-2012-6135.yml
Passenger Security Information SECURITY
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2012-6135
NVD — CVE-2012-6135 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-6135
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/8c6693e0818772c345c979840d28312c2edd4ba4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/8c6693e0818772c345c979840d28312c2edd4ba4#commitcomment-2643541
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/825... WEB
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/82533
web.archive.org/web/20200918164919/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20200918164919/https://old.blog.phusion.nl/2013/03/05/phusion-passenger-4-0-beta-1-and-2-arbitrary-file-deletion-vulnerability
Passenger Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/03/02/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-6135?
CVE-2012-6135 is a security vulnerability in Passenger involving RubyGems passenger gem allows remote attackers to delete files under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Passenger versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.0.0.rc4 across affected packages: passenger.
What version fixes CVE-2012-6135?
Upgrading to 4.0.0.rc4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is passenger affected?
Yes, passenger is affected in releases prior to 4.0.0.rc4. Upgrade your dependency to 4.0.0.rc4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2012-6135?
CVE-2012-6135 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:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-6135?
CVE-2012-6135 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2012-6135?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for passenger'. 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-8mw8-j583-vqfg",
  "modified" : "2023-07-05T19:44:03Z",
  "published" : "2022-04-23T00:40:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-6135" ],
  "summary" : "RubyGems passenger gem allows remote attackers to delete files",
  "details" : "RubyGems passenger 4.0.0 betas 1 and 2 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files during the startup process. \n\nAffects both open source and Enterprise versions (4.0.0.beta1, 4.0.0.beta2).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "passenger"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.0.0.rc4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-6135"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/8c6693e0818772c345c979840d28312c2edd4ba4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/8c6693e0818772c345c979840d28312c2edd4ba4#commitcomment-2643541"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/82533"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/passenger/CVE-2012-6135.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2012-6135"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200918164919/https://old.blog.phusion.nl/2013/03/05/phusion-passenger-4-0-beta-1-and-2-arbitrary-file-deletion-vulnerability"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/03/02/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-03-20T19:27:49Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-11-19T17:15:00Z"
  }
}