CVE-2014-0130
Path Traversal in Rubyonrails Rails ≤ 3.2.18
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2014-0130 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The vulnerability is a directory traversal flaw (CWE-22) in the implicit-render implementation within actionpack/lib/abstract_controller/base.rb of Ruby on Rails. It affects versions prior to 3.2.18, 4.0.x prior to 4.0.5, and 4.1.x prior to 4.1.1 when specific route globbing configurations are enabled, and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 with high impact on confidentiality.
Remote attackers unauthenticated over the network can exploit the issue by submitting a crafted request that traverses directories, enabling them to read arbitrary files on the affected system.
Official advisories including the Ruby on Rails security announcement and Red Hat RHSA-2014-1863 recommend upgrading to the fixed releases 3.2.18, 4.0.5, or 4.1.1; the accompanying Matasano analysis provides additional technical detail on the route-globbing trigger and exploitation path.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2017-0180
Vulnerability Data
Directory traversal vulnerability in actionpack/lib/abstract_controller/base.rb in the implicit-render implementation in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.18, 4.0.x before 4.0.5, and 4.1.x before 4.1.1, when certain route globbing configurations are enabled, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a crafted request.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 25 March 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.