CVE-2015-2963: Paperclip Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6jvm-3j5h-79f6
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CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-2963 is a MODERATE cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Paperclip libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves paperclip cross-site scripting vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.2.2.

CVE-2015-2963 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-2963
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6jvm-3j5h-79f6
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Paperclip
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2015-2963

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

paperclip fixed: 4.2.2 
Upgrade paperclip to 4.2.2
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 paperclip

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2015-2963, inspect your project dependencies for Paperclip:

inspect dependencies for paperclip

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Paperclip in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.2.2), 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Paperclip, 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

The thoughtbot paperclip gem before 4.2.2 for Ruby does not consider the content-type value during media-type validation, which allows remote attackers to upload HTML documents and conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via a spoofed value, as demonstrated by image/jpeg.

CVE-2015-2963 Affected Paperclip Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.2.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
paperclip
gem/paperclip
RubyGems
< 4.2.2
4.2.2

References

NVD — CVE-2015-2963 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-2963
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/commit/9aee4112f36058cd28d5fe4a006d6981bd1eda57
Paperclip Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip
Paperclip Release RELEASE
https://robots.thoughtbot.com/paperclip-security-release
Paperclip Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200228084907/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75304
jvn.jp/en/jp/jvn83881261/i... WEB
http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN83881261/index.html
jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/jvndb-2015-00... WEB
http://jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/JVNDB-2015-000088
Paperclip Security Information SECURITY
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/19/3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-2963?
CVE-2015-2963 is a security vulnerability in Paperclip involving paperclip Cross-site Scripting vulnerability under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Paperclip versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.2.2 across affected packages: paperclip.
What version fixes CVE-2015-2963?
Upgrading to 4.2.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is paperclip affected?
Yes, paperclip is affected in releases prior to 4.2.2. Upgrade your dependency to 4.2.2 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-2963?
CVE-2015-2963 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2015-2963?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for paperclip'. 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-6jvm-3j5h-79f6",
  "modified" : "2023-01-23T20:43:16Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-2963" ],
  "summary" : "paperclip Cross-site Scripting vulnerability",
  "details" : "The thoughtbot paperclip gem before 4.2.2 for Ruby does not consider the content-type value during media-type validation, which allows remote attackers to upload HTML documents and conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via a spoofed value, as demonstrated by image/jpeg.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "paperclip"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-2963"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/commit/9aee4112f36058cd28d5fe4a006d6981bd1eda57"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://robots.thoughtbot.com/paperclip-security-release"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200228084907/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75304"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN83881261/index.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/JVNDB-2015-000088"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/19/3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:19:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}