CVE-2009-3009 — actionpack
CVE-2009-3009 is a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in actionpack. A fix is available for actionpack — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Cross site scripting that affects rails
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
actionpack💎actionpack💎activesupport💎activesupportReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Ruby on Rails 2.x before 2.2.3, and 2.3.x before 2.3.4, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML by placing malformed Unicode strings into a form helper.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.2.3 | 2.2.3bundle update actionpack --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.4 | 2.3.4bundle update actionpack --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | activesupport | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.2.3 | 2.2.3bundle update activesupport --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | activesupport | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.4 | 2.3.4bundle update activesupport --conservative |
Affected Products
railsrubyonrailsDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for actionpack, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update actionpack to 2.2.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2009-3009 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2009-3009 in your dependencies?
Find it across RubyGems, including transitive dependencies.