How severe is CVE-2012-2140?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2012-2140 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2012-2140?

CVE-2012-2140 affects the following packages: mail (RubyGems). Ecosystems affected: RubyGems.

How do I fix CVE-2012-2140?

Update mail to 2.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-2140 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2012-2140 in my RubyGems dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mail. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2012-2140 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2012-2140?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2012-2140 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2012-2140 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2012-2140, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2012-2140?

CVE-2012-2140 is classified as Improper Input Validation (CWE-20). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2012-2140 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2012-2140 was published on July 18, 2012 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

💎 RubyGems

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2012-2140

Fix: mikel/mail@39b590d

CVE-2012-2140 is a Improper Input Validation vulnerability in mail. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2012-2140 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Mail Gem Improper Input Validation vulnerability

Also known asGHSA-rp63-jfmw-532w

Published

Jul 18, 2012

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Apr 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

💎mail

Real-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

The Mail gem before 2.4.3 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a (1) sendmail or (2) exim delivery.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
💎RubyGems	`mail`	all versions	2.4.3

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

The Mail gem before 2.4.3 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute ar…

github.comNVDOct 2012

The Mail gem before 2.4.3 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute ar…

github.comNVDOct 2012

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mail. 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 mail to 2.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-2140 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-2012-2140 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-2012-2140. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

RHSA-2012:1542CloudForms for RHEL 6

Frequently Asked Questions

The Mail gem before 2.4.3 for Ruby allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a (1) sendmail or (2) exim delivery.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2012-2140 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2012-2140 across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works