CVE-2009-3009
CVE-2009-3009 is a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in actionpack. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2009-3009 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Cross site scripting that affects rails
Blast Radius
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 | 2.2.3 |
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.4 | 2.3.4 |
| 💎RubyGems | activesupport | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.2.3 | 2.2.3 |
| 💎RubyGems | activesupport | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.4 | 2.3.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for actionpack. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2009-3009 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2009-3009. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2009-3009 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2009-3009 across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.