# CVE-2012-5380: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges via DLL hijacking if Ruby is installed in the root directory and PATH is modified by an administrator.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Oct 2012
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jxcg-xrvh-r75f

## What is CVE-2012-5380?

CVE-2012-5380 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ruby-Lang Ruby, published on 11 Oct 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installation functionality in Ruby 1.9.3-p194, when installed in the top-level C:\ directory, might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the C:\Ruby193\bin directory, which may be added to the PATH system environment variable by an administrator, as demonstrated by a Trojan horse wlbsctrl.dll file used by the "IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules" system service in Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8 Release Preview.  NOTE: CVE disputes this issue because the unsafe PATH is established only by a separate administrative action that is not a default part of the Ruby installation

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-5380?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ruby-Lang Ruby.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-5380?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-5380 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-5380 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-5380 exists.

Public exploit code:

- IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keyring Modules Service (IKEEXT) - Missing DLL (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Ruby-Lang Ruby

- [CVE-2009-4124](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4124/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-28738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28738/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2011-4121](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4121/): Weak cryptography in OpenSSL extension of Ruby (Git trunk) (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-17790](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17790/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-11465](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11465/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-5380 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-5380 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ruby-Lang Ruby, published on 11 Oct 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2012-5380 exists.

Affected product: Ruby-Lang Ruby. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5380/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5380/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-5380
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5380
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-5380

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5380/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.