# CVE-2019-11879: Path traversal in n/a

> An attacker with local access can create symlinks to read files outside the web root in the Ruby WEBrick library.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 May 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jwh5-q83f-2jjc

## What is CVE-2019-11879?

CVE-2019-11879 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 May 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The WEBrick gem 1.4.2 for Ruby allows directory traversal if the attacker once had local access to create a symlink to a location outside of the web root directory. NOTE: The vendor states that this is analogous to Options FollowSymlinks in the Apache HTTP Server, and therefore it is "not a problem.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-11879?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ruby-Lang Webrick.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-11879?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-11879 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-11879 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11879 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2009-4492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4492/): WEBrick Improper Input Validation vulnerability (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2025-6442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-6442/): Ruby WEBrick read_header HTTP Request Smuggling Vulnerability (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-11879 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-11879 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 May 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11879 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2019-11879/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11879/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-11879
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11879
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-11879

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11879/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.