GHSA-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) OS Command Injection vulnerability in mechanize. A fix is available for mechanize — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Command Injection Vulnerability in Mechanize
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-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g 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
mechanizeReal-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
This security advisory has been created for public disclosure of a Command Injection vulnerability that was responsibly reported by @kyoshidajp (Katsuhiko YOSHIDA).
Impact
Mechanize >= v2.0, < v2.7.7 allows for OS commands to be injected using several classes' methods which implicitly use Ruby's Kernel.open method. Exploitation is possible only if untrusted input is used as a local filename and passed to any of these calls:
Mechanize::CookieJar#load: since v2.0 (see 208e3ed)Mechanize::CookieJar#save_as: since v2.0 (see 5b776a4)Mechanize#download: since v2.2 (see dc91667)Mechanize::Download#saveand#save!since v2.1 (see 98b2f51, bd62ff0)Mechanize::File#saveand#save_as: since v2.1 (see 2bf7519)Mechanize::FileResponse#read_body: since v2.0 (see 01039f5)
Patches
These vulnerabilities are patched in Mechanize v2.7.7.
Workarounds
No workarounds are available. We recommend upgrading to v2.7.7 or later.
References
See https://docs.rubocop.org/rubocop/cops_security.html#securityopen for background on why Kernel.open should not be used with untrusted input.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please open an issue in sparklemotion/mechanize.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | mechanize | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.7.7 | 2.7.7bundle update mechanize --conservative |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mechanize, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update mechanize to 2.7.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g 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-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g. 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-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.