GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) vulnerability in bundler. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for bundler — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Dependency Confusion in Bundler
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
GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p 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 377,166 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
bundler💎bundlerReal-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
Bundler 1.16.0 through 2.2.9 and 2.2.11 through 2.2.17 sometimes chooses a dependency source based on the highest gem version number, which means that a rogue gem found at a public source may be chosen, even if the intended choice was a private gem that is a dependency of another private gem that is explicitly depended on by the application.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | bundler | ≥ 1.16.0&&< 2.2.10 | 2.2.10bundle update bundler --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | bundler | ≥ 2.2.11&&< 2.2.18 | 2.2.18bundle update bundler --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 bundler, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update bundler to 2.2.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p 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 GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p. 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.
Red Hat Satellite does not ship RubyGem bundler, however, the product consumes it from the Red Hat Software Collections (RHSCL) repository.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | ruby:2.7-8040020210728141159.522a0ee4 | RHSA-2021:3020 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | ruby:2.6-8050020211215144356.c5368500 | RHSA-2022:0543 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | ruby:2.5-8050020220112131355.c5368500 | RHSA-2022:0545 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 Update Services for SAP Solutions | ruby:2.5-8010020220201125517.c27ad7f8 | RHSA-2022:0548 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 Update Services for SAP Solutions | ruby:2.6-8010020220201152941.c27ad7f8 | RHSA-2022:0581 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Extended Update Support | ruby:2.5-8020020220201125131.4cda2c84 | RHSA-2022:0547 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Extended Update Support | ruby:2.6-8020020220201131207.4cda2c84 | RHSA-2022:0582 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | ruby:2.6-8040020220131135901.522a0ee4 | RHSA-2022:0544 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-fp4w-jxhp-m23p across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.