GHSA-5prr-v3j2-97mh
Nokogiri: Possible Out-of-Bounds Read in `Nokogiri::XML::NodeSet#[]`
Blast Radius
nokogiriReal-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
Nokogiri::XML::NodeSet#[] (and its alias #slice) checked the requested index against the node set's bounds using a 32-bit-truncated copy of the index. A large negative index could pass the check and then be used at full width, reading outside the node set's storage. On CRuby this is an out-of-bounds read that typically crashes the process; on JRuby it is not memory-unsafe but returns an incorrect node.
Nokogiri 1.19.4 performs the bounds check against the full-width index.
Severity
The Nokogiri maintainers have evaluated this as medium severity.
Exploitation requires an application to pass an attacker-controlled integer to NodeSet#[]. The primary impact is a controlled crash (denial of service), with potential for memory disclosure on CRuby.
On JRuby, Nokogiri is not affected by this vulnerability.
Mitigation
Upgrade to Nokogiri 1.19.4 or later.
As a workaround, applications that index a NodeSet with externally-supplied integers can validate the index against node_set.length before use, or avoid passing untrusted values as an index.
Credit
This issue was responsibly reported by Zheng Yu from depthfirst.com.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | nokogiri | all versions | 1.19.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nokogiri. 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 nokogiri to 1.19.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5prr-v3j2-97mh 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-5prr-v3j2-97mh 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-5prr-v3j2-97mh. 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-5prr-v3j2-97mh in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5prr-v3j2-97mh across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.