How severe is CVE-2013-4287?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2013-4287 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2013-4287?

CVE-2013-4287 affects the following packages: rubygems-update (RubyGems), rubygems-update (RubyGems), rubygems-update (RubyGems), rubygems-update (RubyGems). Ecosystems affected: RubyGems.

How do I fix CVE-2013-4287?

Update rubygems-update to 1.8.23.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-4287 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2013-4287 in my RubyGems dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rubygems-update, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2013-4287 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Is CVE-2013-4287 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2013-4287 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2013-4287?

CVE-2013-4287 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 3.3%, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2013-4287?

CVE-2013-4287 is classified as CWE-310 (CWE-310). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2013-4287 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2013-4287 was published on October 17, 2013 and was last updated on April 16, 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-2013-4287 — rubygems-update

Fix: rubygems/rubygems@938a7e3

CVE-2013-4287 is a CWE-310 vulnerability in rubygems-update. A fix is available for rubygems-update — see the affected versions and patch details below.

RubyGems Regular Expression Denial of Service vulnerability

Also known asGHSA-9j7m-rjqx-48vh

Published

Oct 17, 2013

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

4 / 4

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

3.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs89th percentile — riskier than 89% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected

💎rubygems-update💎rubygems-update💎rubygems-update💎rubygems-update

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

Algorithmic complexity vulnerability in Gem::Version::VERSION_PATTERN in lib/rubygems/version.rb in RubyGems before 1.8.23.1, 1.8.24 through 1.8.25, 2.0.x before 2.0.8, and 2.1.x before 2.1.0, as used in Ruby 1.9.0 through 2.0.0p247, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted gem version that triggers a large amount of backtracking in a regular expression.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
💎RubyGems	`rubygems-update`	all versions	1.8.23.1`bundle update rubygems-update --conservative`
💎RubyGems	`rubygems-update`	≥ 1.8.24&&< 1.8.26	1.8.26`bundle update rubygems-update --conservative`
💎RubyGems	`rubygems-update`	≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.8	2.0.8`bundle update rubygems-update --conservative`
💎RubyGems	`rubygems-update`	≥ 2.1.0.rc.1&&< 2.1.0	2.1.0`bundle update rubygems-update --conservative`

Affected Products

3 products · 59 configurations

enterprise linuxredhat

1 version

6.0

Application

rubyruby-lang

6 versions

1.91.9.11.9.21.9.32.02.0.0

Application

rubygemsrubygems

≤ 1.8.23

34 versions

1.8.01.8.11.8.21.8.31.8.41.8.51.8.61.8.71.8.81.8.91.8.101.8.11

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rubygems-update, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update rubygems-update to 1.8.23.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-4287 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

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 HatModerate

Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 1.2 is now in Production 1 Phase of the support and maintenance life cycle. This has been rated as having Moderate security impact and is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise Life…

Workaround published by Red Hat

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.

Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2013-4287 (CC BY 4.0)

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
OpenStack 3 for RHEL 6	`ruby193-ruby-0:1.9.3.448-40.el6`	RHSA-2013:1523
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	`rubygems-0:1.3.7-4.el6_4`	RHSA-2013:1441
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2	`cumin-0:0.1.5787-4.el6`	RHSA-2013:1852
Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 2.0	`rubygems-0:1.8.24-5.el6op`	RHSA-2014:0207
Red Hat Software Collections for RHEL-6	`ruby193-ruby-0:1.9.3.448-40.el6`	RHSA-2013:1427

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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