GHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm
HIGHGHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-209 vulnerability in actionpack. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Action Pack contains Information Disclosure / Unintended Method Execution vulnerability
Real-World Exposure
actionpack💎actionpack💎actionpack💎actionpackReal-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
Impact
There is a possible information disclosure / unintended method execution vulnerability in Action Pack when using the redirect_to or polymorphic_url helper with untrusted user input.
Vulnerable code will look like this.
redirect_to(params[:some_param])
All users running an affected release should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately.
Releases
The FIXED releases are available at the normal locations.
Workarounds
To work around this problem, it is recommended to use an allow list for valid parameters passed from the user. For example,
private def check(param)
case param
when "valid"
param
else
"/"
end
end
def index
redirect_to(check(params[:some_param]))
end
Or force the user input to be cast to a string like this,
def index
redirect_to(params[:some_param].to_s)
end
Patches
To aid users who aren't able to upgrade immediately we have provided patches for the two supported release series. They are in git-am format and consist of a single changeset.
- 5-2-information-disclosure.patch - Patch for 5.2 series
- 6-0-information-disclosure.patch - Patch for 6.0 series
- 6-1-information-disclosure.patch - Patch for 6.1 series
Please note that only the 5.2, 6.0, and 6.1 series are supported at present. Users of earlier unsupported releases are advised to upgrade as soon as possible as we cannot guarantee the continued availability of security fixes for unsupported releases.
Credits
Thanks to Benoit Côté-Jodoin from Shopify for reporting this.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.3.7 | 6.0.3.7 |
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 6.1.0&&< 6.1.3.2 | 6.1.3.2 |
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 5.2.5&&< 5.2.6 | 5.2.6 |
| 💎RubyGems | actionpack | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 5.2.4.6 | 5.2.4.6 |
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 actionpack. 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 actionpack to 6.0.3.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm 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-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm 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-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm. 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 CloudForms is in the maintenance phase and we will not be fixing Medium/Low impact security bugs. Reference: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/cloudforms
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-hjg4-8q5f-x6fm across RubyGems dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.