# CVE-2013-3221: Active Record component in Ruby on Rails has a data-type injection vulnerability

> Remote attackers can manipulate database queries via crafted input in Ruby on Rails applications, potentially reading or modifying data.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not stated
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-3221, GHSA-f57c-hx33-hvh8

## What is CVE-2013-3221?

CVE-2013-3221 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails, published on 22 Apr 2013. It can be exploited over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Active Record component in Ruby on Rails 2.3.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.x, and 3.2.x does not ensure that the declared data type of a database column is used during comparisons of input values to stored values in that column, which makes it easier for remote attackers to conduct data-type injection attacks against Ruby on Rails applications via a crafted value, as demonstrated by unintended interaction between the "typed XML" feature and a MySQL database.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-3221?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including activerecord. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `activerecord` | RubyGems | All versions | 4.2.0 |
| `activerecord` | RubyGems | All versions | 4.2.0 |

Products: Rubyonrails Rails, Rubyonrails Ruby on Rails.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-3221?

Upgrade activerecord to 4.2.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2013-3221 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-3221 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Rubyonrails Rails

- [CVE-2013-0277](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0277/): Active Record contains deserialization of arbitrary YAML (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2017-17916](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17916/): SQL injection in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2017-17917](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17917/): SQL injection in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-33195](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33195/): Rails Active Storage has possible Path Traversal in DiskService (high 8.0)
- [CVE-2024-26142](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26142/): Rails possible ReDoS vulnerability in Accept header parsing in Action Dispatch (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-3221 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-3221 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails, published on 22 Apr 2013. It can be exploited over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-3221 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- activerecord (RubyGems): affected all versions; fixed in 4.2.0
- activerecord (RubyGems): affected all versions; fixed in 4.2.0

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-2013-3221/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3221/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-3221
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-3221
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-3221

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3221/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.