CVE-2015-3226: Activesupport Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vxvp-4xwc-jpp6
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CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-3226 is a MODERATE cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Activesupport libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves activesupport cross-site scripting vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.1.11, 4.2.2.

CVE-2015-3226 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-3226
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vxvp-4xwc-jpp6
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 Activesupport
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2015-3226

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

activesupport fixed: 4.1.11 
Upgrade activesupport to 4.1.11
activesupport fixed: 4.2.2 
Upgrade activesupport 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 activesupport

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2015-3226, inspect your project dependencies for Activesupport:

inspect dependencies for activesupport

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Activesupport in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.1.11), 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 Activesupport, 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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in `json/encoding.rb` in Active Support in Ruby on Rails 4.1.x before 4.1.11 and 4.2.x before 4.2.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted Hash that is mishandled during JSON encoding.

CVE-2015-3226 Affected Activesupport Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.1.114.2.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 4.1.0
< 4.1.11
4.1.11
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 4.2.0
< 4.2.2
4.2.2

References

NVD — CVE-2015-3226 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3226
Activesupport Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rails/rails
groups.google.com/forum/message/raw WEB
https://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=rubyonrails-security/7VlB_pck3hU/3QZrGIaQW6cJ
groups.google.com/g/rubyonrails-core/... WEB
https://groups.google.com/g/rubyonrails-core/c/qBUqVlXERag/m/kuH3wQk1kxUJ
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200228033946/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75231
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200517005133/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033755
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/16/17
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-3226?
CVE-2015-3226 is a security vulnerability in Activesupport involving activesupport Cross-site Scripting vulnerability under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Activesupport versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.1.11, 4.2.2 across affected packages: activesupport.
What version fixes CVE-2015-3226?
Upgrading to 4.1.11, 4.2.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is activesupport affected?
Yes, activesupport is affected in releases prior to 4.1.11, 4.2.2. Upgrade your dependency to 4.1.11, 4.2.2 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-3226?
CVE-2015-3226 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-2015-3226?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for activesupport'. 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-vxvp-4xwc-jpp6",
  "modified" : "2025-11-04T20:42:18Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-3226" ],
  "summary" : "activesupport Cross-site Scripting vulnerability",
  "details" : "Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in `json/encoding.rb` in Active Support in Ruby on Rails 4.1.x before 4.1.11 and 4.2.x before 4.2.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted Hash that is mishandled during JSON encoding.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "activesupport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.1.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "activesupport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3226"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=rubyonrails-security/7VlB_pck3hU/3QZrGIaQW6cJ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/g/rubyonrails-core/c/qBUqVlXERag/m/kuH3wQk1kxUJ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200228033946/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75231"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200517005133/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033755"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/16/17"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:59:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2015-07-26T22:59:05Z"
  }
}