# CVE-2013-6414: actionpack Improper Input Validation vulnerability

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service via memory consumption by sending headers with invalid MIME types in Ruby on Rails.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Dec 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mpxf-gcw2-pw5q

## What is CVE-2013-6414?

CVE-2013-6414 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails, published on 7 Dec 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

actionpack/lib/action_view/lookup_context.rb in Action View in Ruby on Rails 3.x before 3.2.16 and 4.x before 4.0.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a header containing an invalid MIME type that leads to excessive caching.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-6414?

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


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `actionpack` | RubyGems | From 3.0.0 | 3.2.16 |
| `actionpack` | RubyGems | From 3.0.0 | 3.2.16 |
| `actionpack` | RubyGems | From 4.0.0 | 4.0.2 |
| `actionpack` | RubyGems | From 4.0.0 | 4.0.2 |

Products: Rubyonrails Rails, Rubyonrails Ruby on Rails.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-6414?

Upgrade actionpack to a fixed version for your release line: 3.2.16 or 4.0.2.

## Is CVE-2013-6414 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-6414 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Ruby on Rails Action View MIME Memory Exhaustion (metasploit)

## 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-2013-6414 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-6414 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails, published on 7 Dec 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-6414 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- actionpack (RubyGems): affected from 3.0.0; fixed in 3.2.16
- actionpack (RubyGems): affected from 3.0.0; fixed in 3.2.16
- actionpack (RubyGems): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.0.2
- actionpack (RubyGems): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.0.2

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-2013-6414/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6414/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-6414
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-6414
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-6414

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6414/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.