CVE-2015-3227: Activesupport Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j96r-xvjq-r9pg
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-3227 is a MODERATE denial of service vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Activesupport libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves activesupport vulnerable to denial of service via large xml document depth. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.1.11, 4.2.2, 3.2.22.

CVE-2015-3227 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-3227
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j96r-xvjq-r9pg
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Activesupport
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2015-3227

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
activesupport fixed: 3.2.22 
Upgrade activesupport to 3.2.22
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-2015-3227, 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 General Security Weakness. 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

The (1) `jdom.rb` and (2) `rexml.rb` components in Active Support in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22, 4.1.x before 4.1.11, and 4.2.x before 4.2.2, when JDOM or REXML is enabled, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SystemStackError) via a large XML document depth.

CVE-2015-3227 Affected Activesupport Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.1.114.2.23.2.22
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 4.0.0.beta1
< 4.1.11
4.1.11
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 4.2.0.beta1
< 4.2.2
4.2.2
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
< 3.2.22
3.2.22

References

NVD — CVE-2015-3227 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3227
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/12f763ce1131d29d24bd0d8f868e2697a139aea3
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/153cc843ad95930b00b0ca91d30b599b7dec9680
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/78b29e08c700d889837af6c51c7debd3864abc3d
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/bahr2JLnxvk/x4EocXnHPp8J
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041703/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75234
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200517005133/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033755
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-07/msg00050.html
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/16/16
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-3227?
CVE-2015-3227 is a security vulnerability in Activesupport involving activesupport vulnerable to Denial of Service via large XML document depth under General Security Weakness.
Which Activesupport versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.1.11, 4.2.2, 3.2.22 across affected packages: activesupport.
What version fixes CVE-2015-3227?
Upgrading to 4.1.11, 4.2.2, 3.2.22 (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, 3.2.22. Upgrade your dependency to 4.1.11, 4.2.2, 3.2.22 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-3227?
CVE-2015-3227 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2015-3227?
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-j96r-xvjq-r9pg",
  "modified" : "2025-03-31T17:46:20Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-3227" ],
  "summary" : "activesupport vulnerable to Denial of Service via large XML document depth",
  "details" : "The (1) `jdom.rb` and (2) `rexml.rb` components in Active Support in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22, 4.1.x before 4.1.11, and 4.2.x before 4.2.2, when JDOM or REXML is enabled, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SystemStackError) via a large XML document depth.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
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      "name" : "activesupport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
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      }, {
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    } ]
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    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3227"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-07/msg00050.html"
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/16/16"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:42:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}