Denial of Service in Ruby1.8 and Ruby1.9
Summary
DSA-1695-1: ruby1.8 ruby1.9 - denial of service. Affects ruby1.9 versions < 1.9.0+20060609-1etch4. Fixed in 1.9.0+20060609-1etch4. How to fix ↓
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Background
Ruby is a scripting language that is widely used for web development and other applications. It has two major versions, Ruby1.8 and Ruby1.9. These versions have a regular expression engine that is responsible for pattern matching and text processing. However, a vulnerability has been discovered in the regular expression engine that can be exploited remotely, leading to a denial of service condition. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2008-3443. Additionally, a regression in the REXML XML parser of the ruby1.8 package was introduced in a previous security update (DSA-1651-1) and is also addressed in this update.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the regular expression engine of Ruby1.8 and Ruby1.9 is caused by a memory leak. Under certain circumstances, an attacker can trigger this memory leak remotely, resulting in a denial of service condition. This means that an attacker can cause the affected Ruby application to consume excessive memory, leading to performance degradation or even crashing. The vulnerability is considered critical as it can be exploited remotely.
How To Fix
Minimum fixed version
1.9.0+20060609-1etch4
This is the first release that contains the fix.
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade ruby1.9Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
There is no specific workaround mentioned for this vulnerability. The recommended action is to upgrade the Ruby packages to the fixed versions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Ruby1.8 and Ruby1.9 packages are vulnerable to a denial of service attack due to a memory leak in the regular expression engine. It is crucial to upgrade to the fixed versions of the Ruby packages to mitigate the risk. No specific workaround is mentioned, and it is advised to apply the recommended updates as soon as possible. For further support on vulnerability remediation, you can contact DevNack.com.
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FAQ
The vulnerability can be exploited remotely to cause a denial of service condition in the affected Ruby applications. This can lead to performance degradation or even crashing of the application.
You can use Vulert's playground (https://vulert.com/scanner) to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability. Simply upload your manifest file (e.g., package-lock.json) and Vulert will analyze it for any open-source vulnerabilities, including this one.
There are no known public exploits for this vulnerability at the time of this report. However, it is important to apply the recommended updates to mitigate the risk.
No, this vulnerability requires remote exploitation. An attacker needs network access to trigger the memory leak and cause the denial of service condition.
There is no evidence of active attacks exploiting this vulnerability at the time of this report. However, it is always recommended to apply security updates promptly to protect against potential attacks.
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