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Vulnerability details: VCID-d7rs-7c74-xkex
Vulnerability ID VCID-d7rs-7c74-xkex
Aliases CVE-2009-2422
GHSA-rxq3-gm4p-5fj4
Summary Improper Authentication The example code for the digest authentication functionality (http_authentication.rb) in Ruby on Rails before 2.3.3 defines an authenticate_or_request_with_http_digest block that returns nil instead of false when the user does not exist, which allows context-dependent attackers to bypass authentication for applications that are derived from this example by sending an invalid username without a password.
Status Published
Exploitability 0.5
Weighted Severity 9.0
Risk 4.5
Affected and Fixed Packages Package Details
Weaknesses (3)
CWE-1035 OWASP Top Ten 2017 Category A9 - Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
CWE-287 Improper Authentication
CWE-937 OWASP Top Ten 2013 Category A9 - Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
System Score Found at
cvssv3.1 9.8 http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
generic_textual CRITICAL http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
cvssv3.1 9.8 http://n8.tumblr.com/post/117477059/security-hole-found-in-rails-2-3s
generic_textual CRITICAL http://n8.tumblr.com/post/117477059/security-hole-found-in-rails-2-3s
epss 0.00403 https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2009-2422
cvssv3.1 9.8 https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51528
generic_textual CRITICAL https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51528
cvssv3.1_qr CRITICAL https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rxq3-gm4p-5fj4
cvssv3.1 9.8 https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/rails/CVE-2009-2422.yml
generic_textual CRITICAL https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/rails/CVE-2009-2422.yml
cvssv3.1 9.8 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2422
generic_textual CRITICAL https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2422
cvssv3.1 9.8 http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
generic_textual CRITICAL http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
cvssv3.1 9.8 https://web.archive.org/web/20090711160153/http://secunia.com/advisories/35702
generic_textual CRITICAL https://web.archive.org/web/20090711160153/http://secunia.com/advisories/35702
cvssv3.1 9.8 https://web.archive.org/web/20200229192617/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35579
generic_textual CRITICAL https://web.archive.org/web/20200229192617/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35579
cvssv3 9.8 http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/6/3/security-problem-with-authenticate_with_http_digest
cvssv3.1 9.8 http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/6/3/security-problem-with-authenticate_with_http_digest
generic_textual CRITICAL http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/6/3/security-problem-with-authenticate_with_http_digest
Reference id Reference type URL
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
http://n8.tumblr.com/post/117477059/security-hole-found-in-rails-2-3s
https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2009-2422
http://secunia.com/advisories/35702
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51528
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
https://web.archive.org/web/20090711160153/http://secunia.com/advisories/35702
https://web.archive.org/web/20200229192617/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35579
http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/6/3/security-problem-with-authenticate_with_http_digest
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35579
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1802
535896 https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=535896
CVE-2009-2422 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2422
CVE-2009-2422.YML https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/rails/CVE-2009-2422.yml
GHSA-rxq3-gm4p-5fj4 https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rxq3-gm4p-5fj4
GLSA-200912-02 https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/200912-02
No exploits are available.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

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none

required

unchanged

changed

high

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none

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low

none

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none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at http://n8.tumblr.com/post/117477059/security-hole-found-in-rails-2-3s
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

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none

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low

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Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/51528
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

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none

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low

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high

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none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/rails/CVE-2009-2422.yml
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

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low

none

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none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2422
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://web.archive.org/web/20090711160153/http://secunia.com/advisories/35702
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at https://web.archive.org/web/20200229192617/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/35579
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Found at http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/6/3/security-problem-with-authenticate_with_http_digest
Attack Vector (AV) Attack Complexity (AC) Privileges Required (PR) User Interaction (UI) Scope (S) Confidentiality Impact (C) Integrity Impact (I) Availability Impact (A)

network

adjacent_network

local

physical

low

high

none

low

high

none

required

unchanged

changed

high

low

none

high

low

none

high

low

none
Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)
Percentile 0.61174
EPSS Score 0.00403
Published At May 30, 2026, 12:55 p.m.
Date Actor Action Source VulnerableCode Version
2026-05-30T20:53:12.884912+00:00 GitLab Importer Import https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/advisories-community/-/blob/main/gem/rails/CVE-2009-2422.yml 38.6.0