CVE-2019-16109: Devise Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fcjw-8rhj-gwwc
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-16109 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) authentication bypass vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting Devise libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves authentication bypass in devise. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.7.1.

CVE-2019-16109 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-16109
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fcjw-8rhj-gwwc
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product Devise
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

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:L/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 Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2019-16109

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

devise fixed: 4.7.1 
Upgrade devise to 4.7.1
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 devise

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-16109, inspect your project dependencies for Devise:

inspect dependencies for devise

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Devise in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.7.1), 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-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. In Devise, 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

An issue was discovered in Plataformatec Devise before 4.7.1. It confirms accounts upon receiving a request with a blank confirmation_token, if a database record has a blank value in the confirmation_token column. (However, there is no scenario within Devise itself in which such database records would exist.)

CVE-2019-16109 Affected Devise Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.7.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
devise
gem/devise
RubyGems
< 4.7.1
4.7.1

References

NVD — CVE-2019-16109 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16109
Devise Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/issues/5071
Devise Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/pull/5132
Devise Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plataformatec/devise
Devise Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/compare/v4.7.0...v4.7.1
Devise Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/devise/CVE-2019-16109.yml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-16109?
CVE-2019-16109 is a security vulnerability in Devise involving Authentication Bypass in Devise under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which Devise versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.7.1 across affected packages: devise.
What version fixes CVE-2019-16109?
Upgrading to 4.7.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is devise affected?
Yes, devise is affected in releases prior to 4.7.1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.7.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-16109?
CVE-2019-16109 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-16109?
CVE-2019-16109 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2019-16109?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for devise'. 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-fcjw-8rhj-gwwc",
  "modified" : "2023-01-23T20:12:32Z",
  "published" : "2019-09-11T23:06:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-16109" ],
  "summary" : "Authentication Bypass in Devise",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in Plataformatec Devise before 4.7.1. It confirms accounts upon receiving a request with a blank confirmation_token, if a database record has a blank value in the confirmation_token column. (However, there is no scenario within Devise itself in which such database records would exist.)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "devise"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.7.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16109"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/issues/5071"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/pull/5132"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/plataformatec/devise"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/compare/v4.7.0...v4.7.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/devise/CVE-2019-16109.yml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-09-11T22:42:42Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-09-08T20:15:10Z"
  }
}