Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-33195

Path Traversal in Rubyonrails Rails ≤ 7.2.3.1

Published
24 March 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0057 44th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-33195 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails. Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 44th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-33195 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in Active Storage, a Ruby on Rails component for attaching cloud and local files to applications. In versions prior to 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1, the `DiskService#path_for` method does not validate that the resolved filesystem path remains within the storage root directory, enabling traversal via blob keys containing sequences like `../`.

Remote attackers without privileges can exploit this vulnerability if an application passes untrusted user input as blob keys, which are expected to be trusted strings. Successful exploitation allows reading, writing, or deleting arbitrary files on the server. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), reflecting critical severity with network accessibility, low complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Mitigation is provided in patched versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1 of Rails. Security practitioners should upgrade immediately and review applications for direct use of user-supplied blob keys. Fix commits include 4933c1e3b8c1bb04925d60347be9f69270392f2c, 9b06fbc0f504b8afe333f33d19548f3b85fbe655, and a290c8a1ec189d793aa6d7f2570b6a763f675348, with releases tagged at v7.2.3.1 and v8.0.4.1 on GitHub.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Active Storage allows users to attach cloud and local files in Rails applications. Prior to versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1, Active Storage's `DiskService#path_for` does not validate that the resolved filesystem path remains within the storage root directory. If a blob…

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key containing path traversal sequences (e.g. `../`) is used, it could allow reading, writing, or deleting arbitrary files on the server. Blob keys are expected to be trusted strings, but some applications could be passing user input as keys and would be affected. Versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1 contain a patch.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2014-0130Same product: Rubyonrails Rails
CVE-2019-5418Same product: Rubyonrails Rails
CVE-2016-0752Same product: Rubyonrails Rails
CVE-2025-21048Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-23939Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-7145Shared CWE-22
CVE-2023-42225Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-33109Shared CWE-22
CVE-2023-35016Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-10723Shared CWE-22

Affected Assets

rubyonrails
rails
≤ 7.2.3.1 · 8.0.0 — 8.0.4.1 · 8.1.0 — 8.1.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.

Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.

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.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

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 none match
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References