CVE-2012-3424: Medium severity rubyonrails Rails vulnerability

Published Jul 27, 2012
·
Updated

tenderlove reports:

DoS Vulnerability in authenticateorrequestwithhttpdigest

There is a DoS vulnerability in Action Pack digest authentication handling in Rails. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2012-3424.

Versions Affected: 3.x. Not affected: 2.3.5 - 2.3.14 Fixed Versions: 3.0.16, 3.1.7, 3.2.7

Impact ------

All users using Digest Authentication support in Rails should upgrade immediately. Impacted code uses any of the withhttpdigest controller helper methods. For example:

class MyController < ApplicationController def index authenticateorrequestwithhttpdigest(REALM) do |uname| # ... end end end

Releases -------- The 3.0.16, 3.1.7 & 3.2.7 releases are available at the normal locations.

Workarounds ----------- There are no feasible workarounds for this issue.

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.

3-0-digestauthdos.patch - Patch for 3.0 series 3-1-digestauthdos.patch - Patch for 3.1 series 3-2-digestauthdos.patch - Patch for 3.2 series

Please note that only the 3.1.x and 3.2.x 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 Charlie Somerville for reporting this issue!

References:

http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2012/7/26/ann-rails-3-2-7-has-been-released/ https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/rubyonrails-security/vxJjrc15qYM

diff --git a/actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb b/actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb index 9f2f547..fe4ab65 100644 --- a/actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb +++ b/actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb @@ -227,9 +227,9 @@ module ActionController end def decodecredentials(header) - Hash[header.tos.gsub(/^Digest\s+/,'').split(',').map do |pair| + HashWithIndifferentAccess[header.tos.gsub(/^Digest\s+/,'').split(',').map do |pair| key, value = pair.split('=', 2) - [key.strip.tosym, value.tos.gsub(/^"|"$/,'').gsub(/'/, '')] + [key.strip, value.tos.gsub(/^"|"$/,'').delete('\'')] end] end

Other sources

The decodecredentials method in actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb in Ruby on Rails before 3.0.16, 3.1.x before 3.1.7, and 3.2.x before 3.2.7 converts Digest Authentication strings to symbols, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by leveraging access to an application that uses a withhttpdigest helper method, as demonstrated by the authenticateorrequestwithhttpdigest method.

GitHub

The decodecredentials method in actionpack/lib/actioncontroller/metal/httpauthentication.rb in Ruby on Rails 3.x before 3.0.16, 3.1.x before 3.1.7, and 3.2.x before 3.2.7 converts Digest Authentication strings to symbols, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by leveraging access to an application that uses a withhttpdigest helper method, as demonstrated by the authenticateorrequestwithhttpdigest method.

Affected Software

84 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/rubygem-actionpack<3.0.16
3.0.16
redhat/rubygem-actionpack<3.1.7
3.1.7
redhat/rubygem-actionpack<3.2.7
3.2.7
rubygems/actionpack<2.3.5
2.3.5
rubygems/actionpack>=3.0.0.beta<3.0.16
3.0.16
rubygems/actionpack>=3.2.0<3.2.7
3.2.7
rubygems/actionpack>=3.1.0<3.1.7
3.1.7
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-beta
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-beta2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-beta3
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-beta4
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-rc
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.0-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.1-pre
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.2-pre
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.3
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.4-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.5
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.5-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.6
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.6-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.6-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.7
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.7-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.7-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.8
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.8-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.8-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.8-rc3
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.8-rc4
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9-rc3
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9-rc4
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.9-rc5
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.10
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.10-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.11
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.12
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.12-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.13
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.13-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.0.14
rubyonrails ruby on Rails=3.0.4
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-beta1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc3
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc4
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc5
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc6
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc7
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.0-rc8
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.1-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.1-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.1-rc3
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.2
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.2-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.2-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.3
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.4
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.4-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.5
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.5-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.1.6
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.0
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.0-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.0-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.1
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.2
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.2-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.3
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.3-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.3-rc2
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.4
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.4-rc1
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.5
rubyonrails Rails=3.2.6

Event History

Aug 8, 2012
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:00 AM
Description
Oct 24, 2017
Advisory Published
via GitHub·06:33 PM
Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2012-3424?

CVE-2012-3424 is classified as a Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability affecting Ruby on Rails.

2

How do I fix CVE-2012-3424?

To remediate CVE-2012-3424, upgrade to rubygem-actionpack version 3.0.16, 3.1.7, or 3.2.7, or any higher version.

3

Which versions of Ruby on Rails are affected by CVE-2012-3424?

CVE-2012-3424 affects Ruby on Rails versions prior to 3.0.16, 3.1.7, and 3.2.7.

4

Is CVE-2012-3424 related to authentication processes in Rails?

Yes, CVE-2012-3424 specifically impacts the digest authentication handling in Action Pack.

5

What area of the Ruby on Rails application does CVE-2012-3424 target?

CVE-2012-3424 targets the authentication process within Ruby on Rails applications, leading to potential service disruption.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203