CVE-2026-25500 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in rack. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-25500 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Rack's Stored XSS in Rack::Directory via javascript: filenames rendered into anchor href
Real-World Exposure
rack💎rack💎rackReal-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
Rack is a modular Ruby web server interface. Prior to versions 2.2.22, 3.1.20, and 3.2.5, Rack::Directory generates an HTML directory index where each file entry is rendered as a clickable link. If a file exists on disk whose basename starts with the javascript: scheme (e.g. javascript:alert(1)), the generated index contains an anchor whose href is exactly javascript:alert(1). Clicking the entry executes JavaScript in the browser (demonstrated with alert(1)). Versions 2.2.22, 3.1.20, and 3.2.5 fix the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | rack | all versions | 2.2.22 |
| 💎RubyGems | rack | ≥ 3.0.0.beta1&&< 3.1.20 | 3.1.20 |
| 💎RubyGems | rack | ≥ 3.2.0&&< 3.2.5 | 3.2.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rack. 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 rack to 2.2.22 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-25500 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-2026-25500 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-2026-25500. 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-2026-25500 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-25500 across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.