CVE-2012-2661 Active Record vulnerable to SQL Injection via nested query parameters
Remote attackers can execute SQL injection attacks via nested query parameters in Ruby on Rails Active Record, potentially accessing or modifying database contents.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2012-2661?
CVE-2012-2661 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails, published on 22 Jun 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Active Record component in Ruby on Rails 3.0.x before 3.0.13, 3.1.x before 3.1.5, and 3.2.x before 3.2.4 does not properly implement the passing of request data to a where method in an ActiveRecord class, which allows remote attackers to conduct certain SQL injection attacks via nested query parameters that leverage unintended recursion, a related issue to CVE-2012-2695.
Weakness: CWE-89
Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-2661?
6 open source packages ship an affected version, including activerecord. It affects 2 products.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.13 |
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.13 |
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.1.0 | 3.1.5 |
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.1.0 | 3.1.5 |
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.2.0 | 3.2.4 |
activerecord RubyGems | From 3.2.0 | 3.2.4 |
Products include Rubyonrails Rails, Rubyonrails Ruby on Rails.
How do I fix CVE-2012-2661?
Upgrade activerecord to a fixed version for your release line: 3.0.13, 3.1.5 or 3.2.4.
Use parameterised queries everywhere and never build SQL by joining strings. Upgrade affected software first; a web application firewall only buys time. More about SQL injection.
Is CVE-2012-2661 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-2661 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Rubyonrails Rails
- CVE-2013-0277 Active Record contains deserialization of arbitrary YAML
- CVE-2017-17916 SQL injection in n/a
- CVE-2017-17917 SQL injection in n/a
- CVE-2026-33195 Rails Active Storage has possible Path Traversal in DiskService
- CVE-2024-26142 Rails possible ReDoS vulnerability in Accept header parsing in Action Dispatch
Sources
Also known as GHSA-fh39-v733-mxfr.