GHSA-xc9x-jj77-9p9j — nokogiri
GHSA-xc9x-jj77-9p9j is a security vulnerability in nokogiri. A fix is available for nokogiri — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Nokogiri update packaged libxml2 to v2.12.5 to resolve CVE-2024-25062
Real-World Exposure
nokogiri💎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 upgrades its dependency libxml2 as follows:
- Nokogiri v1.15.6 upgrades libxml2 to 2.11.7 from 2.11.6
- Nokogiri v1.16.2 upgrades libxml2 to 2.12.5 from 2.12.4
libxml2 v2.11.7 and v2.12.5 address the following vulnerability:
- CVE-2024-25062 / https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-25062
Please note that this advisory only applies to the CRuby implementation of Nokogiri, and only if the packaged libraries are being used. If you've overridden defaults at installation time to use system libraries instead of packaged libraries, you should instead pay attention to your distro's libxml2 release announcements.
JRuby users are not affected.
Mitigation
Upgrade to Nokogiri ~> 1.15.6 or >= 1.16.2.
Users who are unable to upgrade Nokogiri may also choose a more complicated mitigation: compile and link Nokogiri against patched external libxml2 libraries which will also address these same issues.
Impact
From the CVE description, this issue applies to the xmlTextReader module (which underlies Nokogiri::XML::Reader):
When using the XML Reader interface with DTD validation and XInclude expansion enabled, processing crafted XML documents can lead to an xmlValidatePopElement use-after-free.
Timeline
- 2024-02-04 10:35 EST - this GHSA is drafted without complete details about when the upstream issue was introduced; a request is made of libxml2 maintainers for more detailed information
- 2024-02-04 10:48 EST - updated GHSA to reflect libxml2 maintainers' confirmation of affected versions
- 2024-02-04 11:54 EST - v1.16.2 published, this GHSA made public
- 2024-02-05 10:18 EST - updated with MITRE link to the CVE information, and updated "Impact" section
- 2024-03-16 09:03 EDT - v1.15.6 published (see discussion at https://github.com/sparklemotion/nokogiri/discussions/3146), updated mitigation information
- 2024-03-18 22:12 EDT - update "affected products" range with v1.15.6 information
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | nokogiri | ≥ 1.16.0&&< 1.16.2 | 1.16.2bundle update nokogiri --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | nokogiri | all versions | 1.15.6bundle update nokogiri --conservative |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nokogiri, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update nokogiri to 1.16.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xc9x-jj77-9p9j 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-xc9x-jj77-9p9j can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-xc9x-jj77-9p9j. 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-xc9x-jj77-9p9j in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-xc9x-jj77-9p9j across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.