CVE-2009-4123: Jruby openssl Jruby-openssl Gem For JRuby Fails Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xgv7-pqqh-h2w9
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-295
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2009-4123 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) jruby-openssl gem for jruby fails vulnerability (CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation) affecting Jruby openssl libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves jruby-openssl gem for jruby fails to do proper certificate validation. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.6.

CVE-2009-4123 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2009-4123
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xgv7-pqqh-h2w9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
Affected Product Jruby openssl
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-2009-4123

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

jruby-openssl fixed: 0.6 
Upgrade jruby-openssl to 0.6
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 jruby-openssl

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2009-4123, inspect your project dependencies for Jruby openssl:

inspect dependencies for jruby-openssl

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jruby openssl in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.6), 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-295: Improper Certificate Validation, where the product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. In Jruby openssl, 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

A security problem involving peer certificate verification was found where failed verification silently did nothing, making affected applications vulnerable to attackers. Attackers could lead a client application to believe that a secure connection to a rogue SSL server is legitimate. Attackers could also penetrate client-validated SSL server applications with a dummy certificate.

CVE-2009-4123 Affected Jruby openssl Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
jruby-openssl
gem/jruby-openssl
RubyGems
< 0.6
0.6

References

NVD — CVE-2009-4123 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4123
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xgv7-pqqh-h2w9
Jruby openssl Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jruby/jruby-openssl
Jruby openssl Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/jruby-openssl/CVE-2009-4123.yml
web.archive.org/web/20101213091125/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20101213091125/http://jruby.org/2009/12/07/vulnerability-in-jruby-openssl
jruby.org/2009/12/07/vulnerab... WEB
http://jruby.org/2009/12/07/vulnerability-in-jruby-openssl

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2009-4123?
CVE-2009-4123 is a security vulnerability in Jruby openssl involving jruby-openssl gem for JRuby fails to do proper certificate validation under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation.
Which Jruby openssl versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.6 across affected packages: jruby-openssl.
What version fixes CVE-2009-4123?
Upgrading to 0.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jruby-openssl affected?
Yes, jruby-openssl is affected in releases prior to 0.6. Upgrade your dependency to 0.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2009-4123?
CVE-2009-4123 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-2009-4123?
CVE-2009-4123 is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation (The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2009-4123?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for jruby-openssl'. 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-xgv7-pqqh-h2w9",
  "modified" : "2023-12-14T22:27:18Z",
  "published" : "2023-01-19T17:51:27Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2009-4123" ],
  "summary" : "jruby-openssl gem for JRuby fails to do proper certificate validation",
  "details" : "A security problem involving peer certificate verification was found where failed verification silently did nothing, making affected applications vulnerable to attackers. Attackers could lead a client application to believe that a secure connection to a rogue SSL server is legitimate. Attackers could also penetrate client-validated SSL server applications with a dummy certificate.\n",
  "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" : "jruby-openssl"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4123"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xgv7-pqqh-h2w9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jruby/jruby-openssl"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/jruby-openssl/CVE-2009-4123.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20101213091125/http://jruby.org/2009/12/07/vulnerability-in-jruby-openssl"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://jruby.org/2009/12/07/vulnerability-in-jruby-openssl"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-295" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-19T17:51:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-12-12T16:15:07Z"
  }
}