CVE-2026-23885 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.4) CWE-95 vulnerability in alchemy_cms. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-23885 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
AlchemyCMS has Authenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) via eval injection in ResourcesHelper
Real-World Exposure
alchemy_cms💎alchemy_cmsReal-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
Alchemy is an open source content management system engine written in Ruby on Rails. Prior to versions 7.4.12 and 8.0.3, the application uses the Ruby eval() function to dynamically execute a string provided by the resource_handler.engine_name attribute in Alchemy::ResourcesHelper#resource_url_proxy. The vulnerability exists in app/helpers/alchemy/resources_helper.rb at line 28. The code explicitly bypasses security linting with # rubocop:disable Security/Eval, indicating that the use of a dangerous function was known but not properly mitigated. Since engine_name is sourced from module definitions that can be influenced by administrative configurations, it allows an authenticated attacker to escape the Ruby sandbox and execute arbitrary system commands on the host OS. Versions 7.4.12 and 8.0.3 fix the issue by replacing eval() with send().
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | alchemy_cms | all versions | 7.4.12 |
| 💎RubyGems | alchemy_cms | ≥ 8.0.0.a&&< 8.0.3 | 8.0.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for alchemy_cms. 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 alchemy_cms to 7.4.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-23885 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-2026-23885 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-2026-23885. 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-2026-23885 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-23885 across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.