GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89
GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 is a Use After Free vulnerability in sqlite3-ruby. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
sqlite3-ruby has Use-After-Free When Redefining SQLite Functions with Different Arity
Blast Radius
sqlite3-ruby💎sqlite3Real-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
Summary
Using Database#create_function or Database#define_function to define the same function name more than once with different numbers of arguments ("arity") or text encodings will result in a invalid memory read and a segmentation fault.
Mitigation
Upgrade to sqlite3 gem v2.9.5 or later.
As a workaround, avoid defining multiple custom functions with the same name (varying numbers of arguments or encoding).
Severity
The sqlite3-ruby maintainers assess this as Low severity. It is reliably triggered after GC when code is structured in a particular way. There is no known general exploit that could be used as a denial of service attack.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | sqlite3-ruby | all versions | 2.9.5 |
| 💎RubyGems | sqlite3 | all versions | 2.9.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for sqlite3-ruby. 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 sqlite3-ruby to 2.9.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 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 GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 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 GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-28hh-pr2h-2w89 across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.