CVE-2019-16254: Medium severity ruby-lang Ruby vulnerability

Published Oct 25, 2019
·
Updated

Last updated 25 August 2025

Other sources

Ruby through 2.4.7, 2.5.x through 2.5.6, and 2.6.x through 2.6.4 allows HTTP Response Splitting. If a program using WEBrick inserts untrusted input into the response header, an attacker can exploit it to insert a newline character to split a header, and inject malicious content to deceive clients. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-17742, which addressed the CRLF vector, but did not address an isolated CR or an isolated LF.

Affected Software

12 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/rh-ruby25-ruby<0:2.5.9-9.el7
0:2.5.9-9.el7
redhat/rh-ruby26-ruby<0:2.6.7-119.el7
0:2.6.7-119.el7
redhat/ruby<2.4.8
2.4.8
redhat/ruby<2.5.7
2.5.7
redhat/ruby<2.6.5
2.6.5
redhat/ruby<2.7.0
2.7.0
ruby-lang Ruby<=2.3.0
ruby-lang Ruby>=2.4.0<=2.4.7
ruby-lang Ruby>=2.5.0<=2.5.6
ruby-lang Ruby>=2.6.0<=2.6.4
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
debian/jruby
9.3.9.0+ds-89.4.8.0+ds-3

Event History

Oct 25, 2019
CVE Published
12:00 AM
Nov 26, 2019
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:00 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·06:15 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jan 9, 2020
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·07:38 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:21 PM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·11:43 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Debian·11:44 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2019-16254?

CVE-2019-16254 is a vulnerability in Ruby through 2.4.7, 2.5.x through 2.5.6, and 2.6.x through 2.6.4 that allows HTTP Response Splitting.

2

How does CVE-2019-16254 work?

If an attacker inserts untrusted input into the response header of a program using WEBrick, they can exploit the vulnerability to insert a newline character and inject malicious content to deceive clients.

3

What is the severity of CVE-2019-16254?

CVE-2019-16254 has a severity rating of medium with a CVSS score of 5.3.

4

Which versions of Ruby are affected by CVE-2019-16254?

Ruby versions 2.4.7, 2.5.x through 2.5.6, and 2.6.x through 2.6.4 are affected by CVE-2019-16254.

5

How can I fix CVE-2019-16254?

To fix CVE-2019-16254, update Ruby to version 2.4.8, 2.5.7, or 2.6.5 or later as appropriate for your version.

Contact

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