Vulnerabilities in pkg:gem/cassandra-web

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8mfv-xhp5-48q9
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36939 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) cassandra web - remote file vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Cassandra web libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves cassandra web - remote file read. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:gem/cassandra-web

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:gem/cassandra-web. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-8mfv-xhp5-48q9 CVE-2020-36939 HIGH Cassandra Web - Remote File Read

CVE-2020-36939 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36939
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8mfv-xhp5-48q9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Cassandra web
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

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 High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-36939

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

cassandra-web fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade cassandra-web to Latest secure release
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 cassandra-web

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-36939, inspect your project dependencies for Cassandra web:

inspect dependencies for cassandra-web

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cassandra web in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), 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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Cassandra web, 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

Cassandra Web 0.5.0 contains a directory traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files by manipulating path traversal parameters. Attackers can exploit the disabled Rack::Protection module to read sensitive system files like /etc/passwd and retrieve Apache Cassandra database credentials.

CVE-2020-36939 Affected Cassandra web Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cassandra-web
gem/cassandra-web
RubyGems
≤ 0.5.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36939 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36939
Cassandra web Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/avalanche123/cassandra-web
Cassandra web Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/cassandra-web/CVE-2020-36939.yml
rubygems.org/gems/cassandra-web/... WEB
https://rubygems.org/gems/cassandra-web/versions/0.5.0
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/49362 WEB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/49362
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/cassandr... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/cassandra-web-remote-file-read

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36939?
CVE-2020-36939 is a security vulnerability in Cassandra web involving Cassandra Web - Remote File Read under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Cassandra web versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: cassandra-web.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36939?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cassandra-web affected?
Yes, cassandra-web is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36939?
CVE-2020-36939 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36939?
CVE-2020-36939 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2020-36939?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for cassandra-web'. 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-8mfv-xhp5-48q9",
  "modified" : "2026-09-08T18:17:10Z",
  "published" : "2026-01-27T18:32:13Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36939" ],
  "summary" : "Cassandra Web - Remote File Read",
  "details" : "Cassandra Web 0.5.0 contains a directory traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files by manipulating path traversal parameters. Attackers can exploit the disabled Rack::Protection module to read sensitive system files like /etc/passwd and retrieve Apache Cassandra database credentials.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "cassandra-web"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.5.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36939"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/avalanche123/cassandra-web"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/cassandra-web/CVE-2020-36939.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rubygems.org/gems/cassandra-web/versions/0.5.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/49362"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/cassandra-web-remote-file-read"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-09-08T18:17:10Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-01-27T16:16:11Z"
  }
}