CVE-2018-1000201: Ffi Ruby-ffi Has A DLL Loading Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2gw2-8q9w-cw8p
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-426
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-1000201 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) ruby-ffi has a dll loading vulnerability (CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path) affecting Ffi libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves ruby-ffi has a dll loading issue. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.9.24.

CVE-2018-1000201 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-1000201
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2gw2-8q9w-cw8p
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path
Affected Product Ffi
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-1000201

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

ffi fixed: 1.9.24 
Upgrade ffi to 1.9.24
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 ffi

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-1000201, inspect your project dependencies for Ffi:

inspect dependencies for ffi

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ffi in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.9.24), 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-426: Untrusted Search Path, where the product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control. In Ffi, 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

ruby-ffi version 1.9.23 and earlier has a DLL loading issue which can be hijacked on Windows OS, when a Symbol is used as DLL name instead of a String This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in v1.9.24 and later.

CVE-2018-1000201 Affected Ffi Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.9.24
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ffi
gem/ffi
RubyGems
< 1.9.24
1.9.24

References

NVD — CVE-2018-1000201 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000201
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ffi/ffi/commit/09e0c6076466b4383da7fa4e13f714311109945a
Ffi Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ffi/ffi
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ffi/ffi/commit/e0fe486df0e117ed67b0282b6ada04b7214ca05c
Ffi Release RELEASE
https://github.com/ffi/ffi/releases/tag/1.9.24
Ffi Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ffi/CVE-2018-1000201.yml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-1000201?
CVE-2018-1000201 is a security vulnerability in Ffi involving Ruby-ffi has a DLL loading issue under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path.
Which Ffi versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.9.24 across affected packages: ffi.
What version fixes CVE-2018-1000201?
Upgrading to 1.9.24 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ffi affected?
Yes, ffi is affected in releases prior to 1.9.24. Upgrade your dependency to 1.9.24 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-1000201?
CVE-2018-1000201 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-1000201?
CVE-2018-1000201 is classified under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path (The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2018-1000201?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ffi'. 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-2gw2-8q9w-cw8p",
  "modified" : "2023-01-25T22:55:50Z",
  "published" : "2018-08-31T14:55:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-1000201" ],
  "summary" : "Ruby-ffi has a DLL loading issue ",
  "details" : "ruby-ffi version 1.9.23 and earlier has a DLL loading issue which can be hijacked on Windows OS, when a Symbol is used as DLL name instead of a String This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in v1.9.24 and later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "ffi"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.9.24"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000201"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ffi/ffi/commit/09e0c6076466b4383da7fa4e13f714311109945a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ffi/ffi/commit/e0fe486df0e117ed67b0282b6ada04b7214ca05c"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ffi/ffi"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ffi/ffi/releases/tag/1.9.24"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/ffi/CVE-2018-1000201.yml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-426" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T20:52:04Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}