CVE-2015-20108: Ruby saml Ruby-saml Vulnerable To XPath Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-r364-2pj4-pf7f
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-20108 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) ruby-saml vulnerable to xpath injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Ruby saml libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves ruby-saml vulnerable to xpath injection. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.0.

CVE-2015-20108 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-20108
GHSA Identifier GHSA-r364-2pj4-pf7f
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Ruby saml
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/A:H).

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 High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2015-20108

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

ruby-saml fixed: 1.0.0 
Upgrade ruby-saml to 1.0.0
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 ruby-saml

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2015-20108, inspect your project dependencies for Ruby saml:

inspect dependencies for ruby-saml

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ruby saml in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.0), 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-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Ruby saml, 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

`xml_security.rb` in the ruby-saml gem before 1.0.0 for Ruby allows XPath injection and code execution because prepared statements are not used.

CVE-2015-20108 Affected Ruby saml Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ruby-saml
gem/ruby-saml
RubyGems
< 1.0.0
1.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2015-20108 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-20108
Ruby saml Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/pull/225
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/commit/9853651b96b99653ea8627d757d46bfe62ab6448
Ruby saml Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml
Ruby saml Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/compare/v0.9.2...v1.0.0
Ruby saml Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ruby-saml/CVE-2015-20108.yml
Ruby saml Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ruby-saml/OSVDB-124991.yml
Ruby saml Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230703-0003
Ruby saml Security Information SECURITY
https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-RUBY-RUBYSAML-20217

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-20108?
CVE-2015-20108 is a security vulnerability in Ruby saml involving ruby-saml vulnerable to XPath injection under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Ruby saml versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.0 across affected packages: ruby-saml.
What version fixes CVE-2015-20108?
Upgrading to 1.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ruby-saml affected?
Yes, ruby-saml is affected in releases prior to 1.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-20108?
CVE-2015-20108 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-20108?
CVE-2015-20108 is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2015-20108?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ruby-saml'. 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-r364-2pj4-pf7f",
  "modified" : "2025-01-14T22:14:32Z",
  "published" : "2023-05-27T21:30:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-20108" ],
  "summary" : "ruby-saml vulnerable to XPath injection",
  "details" : "`xml_security.rb` in the ruby-saml gem before 1.0.0 for Ruby allows XPath injection and code execution because prepared statements are not used.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "ruby-saml"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-20108"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/pull/225"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/commit/9853651b96b99653ea8627d757d46bfe62ab6448"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits/ruby-saml/compare/v0.9.2...v1.0.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ruby-saml/CVE-2015-20108.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ruby-saml/OSVDB-124991.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230703-0003"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-RUBY-RUBYSAML-20217"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-06-06T00:24:25Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-05-27T19:15:09Z"
  }
}