CVE-2016-0751: Actionpack Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-ffpv-c4hm-3x6v
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CVSS 7.5
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-0751 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Actionpack libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves actionpack is vulnerable to denial of service via a crafted http accept header. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.2.5.1, 3.2.22.1, 4.1.14.1.

CVE-2016-0751 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-0751
GHSA Identifier GHSA-ffpv-c4hm-3x6v
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Actionpack
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:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2016-0751

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

actionpack fixed: 4.2.5.1 
Upgrade actionpack to 4.2.5.1
actionpack fixed: 3.2.22.1 
Upgrade actionpack to 3.2.22.1
actionpack fixed: 4.1.14.1 
Upgrade actionpack to 4.1.14.1
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 actionpack

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2016-0751, inspect your project dependencies for Actionpack:

inspect dependencies for actionpack

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Actionpack in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.2.5.1), 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 Actionpack, 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

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/mime_type.rb in Action Pack in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22.1, 4.0.x and 4.1.x before 4.1.14.1, 4.2.x before 4.2.5.1, and 5.x before 5.0.0.beta1.1 does not properly restrict use of the MIME type cache, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted HTTP Accept header.

CVE-2016-0751 Affected Actionpack Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.2.5.13.2.22.14.1.14.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
actionpack
gem/actionpack
RubyGems
≥ 4.2.0
< 4.2.5.1
4.2.5.1
actionpack
gem/actionpack
RubyGems
< 3.2.22.1
3.2.22.1
actionpack
gem/actionpack
RubyGems
≥ 4.0.0
< 4.1.14.1
4.1.14.1

References

NVD — CVE-2016-0751 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0751
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/127967b735813cd4f263df7a50426d74e7e9cc17
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/221937c8ba1d291430ceddebbd4bdef7d3cb47d6
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/37047b779a177b911c7161052cfc34a30e1db0af
Actionpack Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rails/rails
Actionpack Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/actionpack/CVE-2016-0751.yml
groups.google.com/forum/ WEB
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rubyonrails-security/9oLY_FCzvoc
groups.google.com/forum/message/raw WEB
https://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=ruby-security-ann/9oLY_FCzvoc/5CDXbvpYEgAJ
Actionpack Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20160128201702/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034816
Actionpack Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200227181647/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81800
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-a... WEB
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/178043.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-a... WEB
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/178067.html
Actionpack Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00053.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00034.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00043.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2016-02... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0296.html
Actionpack Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464
Actionpack Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/25/9

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-0751?
CVE-2016-0751 is a security vulnerability in Actionpack involving actionpack is vulnerable to denial of service via a crafted HTTP Accept header under General Security Weakness.
Which Actionpack versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.2.5.1, 3.2.22.1, 4.1.14.1 across affected packages: actionpack.
What version fixes CVE-2016-0751?
Upgrading to 4.2.5.1, 3.2.22.1, 4.1.14.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is actionpack affected?
Yes, actionpack is affected in releases prior to 4.2.5.1, 3.2.22.1, 4.1.14.1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.2.5.1, 3.2.22.1, 4.1.14.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-0751?
CVE-2016-0751 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-0751?
CVE-2016-0751 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2016-0751?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for actionpack'. 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-ffpv-c4hm-3x6v",
  "modified" : "2023-07-31T21:08:45Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-0751" ],
  "summary" : "actionpack is vulnerable to denial of service via a crafted HTTP Accept header",
  "details" : "actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/mime_type.rb in Action Pack in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22.1, 4.0.x and 4.1.x before 4.1.14.1, 4.2.x before 4.2.5.1, and 5.x before 5.0.0.beta1.1 does not properly restrict use of the MIME type cache, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted HTTP Accept header.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
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    },
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    "database_specific" : {
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    },
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  }, {
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    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
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    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0751"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/127967b735813cd4f263df7a50426d74e7e9cc17"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/221937c8ba1d291430ceddebbd4bdef7d3cb47d6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/37047b779a177b911c7161052cfc34a30e1db0af"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/actionpack/CVE-2016-0751.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rubyonrails-security/9oLY_FCzvoc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=ruby-security-ann/9oLY_FCzvoc/5CDXbvpYEgAJ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20160128201702/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034816"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200227181647/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81800"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/178043.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2016-February/178067.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00053.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00034.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00043.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0296.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3464"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/25/9"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:34:31Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}