Ruby: Denial of Service vulnerability

1. Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Advisory Reference	GLSA 200612-21 / ruby
Release Date	December 20, 2006
Latest Revision	December 20, 2006: 01
Impact	normal
Exploitable	remote

Package	Vulnerable versions	Unaffected versions	Architecture(s)
dev-lang/ruby	< 1.8.5_p2	>= 1.8.5_p2	All supported architectures

Related bugreports: #157048

Synopsis

The Ruby cgi.rb CGI library is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack.

2. Impact Information

Background

Ruby is a dynamic, open source programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity.

Description

The read_multipart function of the CGI library shipped with Ruby (cgi.rb) does not properly check boundaries in MIME multipart content. This is a different issue than GLSA 200611-12.

Impact

The vulnerability can be exploited by sending the cgi.rb library a crafted HTTP request with multipart MIME encoding that contains a malformed MIME boundary specifier. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability causes the library to go into an infinite loop.

3. Resolution Information

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All Ruby users should upgrade to the latest version:

Code Listing 3.1: Resolution

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-lang/ruby-1.8.5_p2"

4. References

CVE-2006-6303

Page updated December 20, 2006

Summary: This is a Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

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