CVE-2023-38037: Activesupport Active Support Possibly Discloses Locally Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cr5q-6q9f-rq6q
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-732 CWE-377
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-38037 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) active support possibly discloses locally vulnerability (CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource) affecting Activesupport libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves active support possibly discloses locally encrypted files. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.1.7.5, 7.0.7.1.

CVE-2023-38037 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-38037
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cr5q-6q9f-rq6q
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Affected Product Activesupport
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2023-38037

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: 6.1.7.5 
Upgrade activesupport to 6.1.7.5
activesupport fixed: 7.0.7.1 
Upgrade activesupport to 7.0.7.1
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 activesupport

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-38037, 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 6.1.7.5), 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-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource, where the product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors. 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

There is a possible file disclosure of locally encrypted files in Active Support. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-38037. Versions Affected: >= 5.2.0 Not affected: < 5.2.0 Fixed Versions: 7.0.7.1, 6.1.7.5 # Impact ActiveSupport::EncryptedFile writes contents that will be encrypted to a temporary file. The temporary file’s permissions are defaulted to the user’s current umask settings, meaning that it’s possible for other users on the same system to read the contents of the temporary file. Attackers that have access to the file system could possibly read the contents of this temporary file while a user is editing it. All users running an affected release should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately. # Releases The fixed releases are available at the normal locations. # Workarounds To work around this issue, you can set your umask to be more restrictive like this: ```ruby $ umask 0077 ```

CVE-2023-38037 Affected Activesupport Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.1.7.57.0.7.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 5.2.0
< 6.1.7.5
6.1.7.5
activesupport
gem/activesupport
RubyGems
≥ 7.0.0
< 7.0.7.1
7.0.7.1

References

NVD — CVE-2023-38037 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38037
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/a21d6edf35a60383dfa6c4da49e4b1aef5f00731
discuss.rubyonrails.org/t/cve-2023-38037-po... WEB
https://discuss.rubyonrails.org/t/cve-2023-38037-possible-file-disclosure-of-locally-encrypted-files/83544
Activesupport Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rails/rails
Activesupport Release RELEASE
https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.0.7.1
Activesupport Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/activesupport/CVE-2023-38037.yml
Activesupport Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250214-0010

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-38037?
CVE-2023-38037 is a security vulnerability in Activesupport involving Active Support Possibly Discloses Locally Encrypted Files under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource.
Which Activesupport versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.1.7.5, 7.0.7.1 across affected packages: activesupport.
What version fixes CVE-2023-38037?
Upgrading to 6.1.7.5, 7.0.7.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is activesupport affected?
Yes, activesupport is affected in releases prior to 6.1.7.5, 7.0.7.1. Upgrade your dependency to 6.1.7.5, 7.0.7.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-38037?
CVE-2023-38037 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-38037?
CVE-2023-38037 is classified under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2023-38037?
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-cr5q-6q9f-rq6q",
  "modified" : "2025-02-18T22:32:50Z",
  "published" : "2023-08-23T20:36:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-38037" ],
  "summary" : "Active Support Possibly Discloses Locally Encrypted Files",
  "details" : "There is a possible file disclosure of locally encrypted files in Active Support. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-38037.\n\nVersions Affected: >= 5.2.0 Not affected: < 5.2.0 Fixed Versions: 7.0.7.1, 6.1.7.5\n\n# Impact\nActiveSupport::EncryptedFile writes contents that will be encrypted to a temporary file. The temporary file’s permissions are defaulted to the user’s current umask settings, meaning that it’s possible for other users on the same system to read the contents of the temporary file.\n\nAttackers that have access to the file system could possibly read the contents of this temporary file while a user is editing it.\n\nAll users running an affected release should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately.\n\n# Releases\nThe fixed releases are available at the normal locations.\n\n# Workarounds\nTo work around this issue, you can set your umask to be more restrictive like this:\n\n```ruby\n$ umask 0077\n```",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "activesupport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.1.7.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "activesupport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.0.7.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38037"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/a21d6edf35a60383dfa6c4da49e4b1aef5f00731"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://discuss.rubyonrails.org/t/cve-2023-38037-possible-file-disclosure-of-locally-encrypted-files/83544"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.0.7.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/activesupport/CVE-2023-38037.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250214-0010"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-377", "CWE-732" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-23T20:36:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-01-09T01:15:07Z"
  }
}