CVE-2023-22794 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in activerecord. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for activerecord — see the affected versions and patch details below.
SQL Injection Vulnerability via ActiveRecord comments
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-22794 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
activerecord💎activerecord💎activerecordReal-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
There is a possible vulnerability in ActiveRecord related to the sanitization of comments. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-22794.
Versions Affected: >= 6.0.0 Not affected: < 6.0.0 Fixed Versions: 6.0.6.1, 6.1.7.1, 7.0.4.1 Impact
Previously the implementation of escaping for comments was insufficient for
If malicious user input is passed to either the annotate query method, the optimizer_hints query method, or through the QueryLogs interface which automatically adds annotations, it may be sent to the database with insufficient sanitization and be able to inject SQL outside of the comment.
In most cases these interfaces won’t be used with user input and users should avoid doing so.
Example vulnerable code:
Post.where(id: 1).annotate("#{params[:user_input]}")
Post.where(id: 1).optimizer_hints("#{params[:user_input]}")
Example vulnerable QueryLogs configuration (the default configuration is not vulnerable):
config.active_record.query_log_tags = [
{
something: -> { <some value including user input> }
}
]
All users running an affected release should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately. Releases
The FIXED releases are available at the normal locations. Workarounds
Avoid passing user input to annotate and avoid using QueryLogs configuration which can include user input. Patches
To aid users who aren’t able to upgrade immediately we have provided patches for the two supported release series. They are in git-am format and consist of a single changeset.
6-0-Make-sanitize_as_sql_comment-more-strict.patch - Patch for 6.0 series
6-1-Make-sanitize_as_sql_comment-more-strict.patch - Patch for 6.1 series
7-0-Make-sanitize_as_sql_comment-more-strict.patch - Patch for 7.0 series
Please note that only the 7.0.Z and 6.1.Z series are supported at present, and 6.0.Z for severe vulnerabilities. Users of earlier unsupported releases are advised to upgrade as soon as possible as we cannot guarantee the continued availability of security fixes for unsupported releases.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | activerecord | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.6.1 | 6.0.6.1bundle update activerecord --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | activerecord | ≥ 6.1.0&&< 6.1.7.1 | 6.1.7.1bundle update activerecord --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | activerecord | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.4.1 | 7.0.4.1bundle update activerecord --conservative |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for activerecord, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update activerecord to 6.0.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-22794 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-22794 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-22794. 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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Satellite 6.14 for RHEL 8 | rubygem-activerecord-0:6.1.7.3-1.el8sat | RHSA-2023:6818 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-22794 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-22794 across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.