Description
A Directory Traversal issue was discovered in RubyGems 2.7.6 and later through 3.0.2. Before making new directories or touching files (which now include path-checking code for symlinks), it would delete the target destination. If that destination was hidden behind a symlink, a malicious gem could delete arbitrary files on the user's machine, presuming the attacker could guess at paths. Given how frequently gem is run as sudo, and how predictable paths are on modern systems (/tmp, /usr, etc.), this could likely lead to data loss or an unusable system.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | jruby | 9.1.17.0-3 | — |
| Debian 14 | rubygems | 3.2.0~rc.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | jruby | 9.1.17.0-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | rubygems | 3.2.0~rc.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | jruby | 9.1.17.0-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | rubygems | 3.2.0~rc.1-1 | — |
| Debian 9 | jruby | 1.7.26-1+deb9u2 | DLA-2330-1 |
| Debian 9 | ruby2.3 | 2.3.3-1+deb9u6 | DSA-4433-1 |
| Debian 8 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.5-2+deb8u7 | DLA-1735-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | jruby | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | ruby2.5 | 2.5.1-1ubuntu1.2 | USN-3945-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | ruby2.3 | 2.3.1-2~16.04.12 | USN-3945-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | ruby1.9.1 | 1.9.3.484-2ubuntu1.14 | USN-3945-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | ruby2.0 | 2.0.0.484-1ubuntu2.13 | USN-3945-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | ruby +4 | 2.5.5-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-abrt +1 | 0.3.0-4.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-bigdecimal | 1.3.4-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-bson +1 | 4.3.0-2.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-bundler +1 | 1.16.1-3.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-did_you_mean | 1.2.0-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-io-console | 0.4.6-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-json | 2.1.0-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-minitest | 5.10.3-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-mongo +1 | 2.5.1-2.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-mysql2 +1 | 0.4.10-4.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-net-telnet | 0.1.1-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-openssl | 2.1.2-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-pg +1 | 1.0.0-2.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-power_assert | 1.1.1-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-psych | 3.0.2-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-rake | 12.3.0-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-rdoc | 6.0.1-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-test-unit | 3.2.7-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygem-xmlrpc | 0.3.0-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 8 | rubygems +1 | 2.7.6.2-105.module+el8.1.0+3656+f80bfa1d | RHBA-2019:3384 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-ruby +4 | 2.4.6-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-bigdecimal | 1.3.2-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-did_you_mean | 1.1.0-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-io-console | 0.4.6-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-json | 2.0.4-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-minitest | 5.10.1-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-net-telnet | 0.1.1-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-openssl | 2.0.9-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-power_assert | 0.4.1-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-psych | 2.2.2-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-rake | 12.0.0-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-rdoc | 5.0.0-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-test-unit | 3.2.3-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygem-xmlrpc | 0.2.1-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby24-rubygems +1 | 2.6.14.4-92.el6 | RHSA-2019:1150 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-ruby +4 | 2.5.5-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-bigdecimal | 1.3.4-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-did_you_mean | 1.2.0-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-io-console | 0.4.6-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-json | 2.1.0-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-minitest | 5.10.3-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-net-telnet | 0.1.1-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-openssl | 2.1.2-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-power_assert | 1.1.1-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-psych | 3.0.2-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-rake | 12.3.0-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-rdoc | 6.0.1-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-test-unit | 3.2.7-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygem-xmlrpc | 0.3.0-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
| RHEL 3 | rh-ruby25-rubygems +1 | 2.7.6.2-7.el7 | RHSA-2019:1148 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | cfme +5 | 5.10.5.1-1.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | ruby +4 | 2.4.6-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-bigdecimal | 1.3.2-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-did_you_mean | 1.1.0-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-io-console | 0.4.6-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-minitest | 5.10.1-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-net-telnet | 0.1.1-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-openssl | 2.0.9-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-power_assert | 0.4.1-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-psych | 2.2.2-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-rake | 12.0.0-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-rdoc | 5.0.0-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-test-unit | 3.2.3-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygem-xmlrpc | 0.2.1-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
| Red Hat CloudForms 5 | rubygems +1 | 2.6.14.4-91.el7cf | RHSA-2019:1429 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 8 | rubygem-abrt +1 | 0.3.0-4.module_el8.5.0+259+8cec6917 | ALBA-2019:3384 |
| AlmaLinux 8 | rubygem-bson +1 | 4.3.0-2.module_el8.5.0+259+8cec6917 | ALBA-2019:3384 |
| AlmaLinux 8 | rubygem-mongo +1 | 2.5.1-2.module_el8.5.0+259+8cec6917 | ALBA-2019:3384 |
| AlmaLinux 8 | rubygem-mysql2 +1 | 0.4.10-4.module_el8.5.0+259+8cec6917 | ALBA-2019:3384 |
| AlmaLinux 8 | rubygem-pg +1 | 1.0.0-2.module_el8.5.0+259+8cec6917 | ALBA-2019:3384 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP1 | ruby2.5 | 2.5.5-4.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:1804-1 |
| SLES 15 | ruby2.5 | 2.5.5-4.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:1804-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES 12 SP4 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
Show 10 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP2 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | yast2-ruby-bindings | 3.1.53-9.8.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | yast2-ruby-bindings | 3.1.53-9.8.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | yast2-ruby-bindings | 3.1.53-9.8.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 5 | ruby2.1 | 2.1.9-19.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.1 | ruby-bundled-gems-rpmhelper | 0.0.2-lp151.2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:1771-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.1 | ruby2.5 | 2.5.5-lp151.4.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:1771-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.0 | ruby-bundled-gems-rpmhelper | 0.0.2-lp151.2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:1771-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.0 | ruby2.5 | 2.5.5-lp151.4.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:1771-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.9 | ruby | 2.5.5-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | ruby | 2.5.5-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | ruby | 2.4.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | ruby | 2.4.6-r0 | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RubyGems | rubygems-update | >= 2.7.6, < 2.7.9 | 2.7.9 | GHSA-5x32-c9mf-49cc |
| RubyGems | rubygems-update | >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.3 | 3.0.3 | GHSA-5x32-c9mf-49cc |
Advisories 12
- ALBA-2019:3384 ruby:2.5 bug fix and enhancement update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- RHSA-2019:1429 Red Hat Security Advisory: CloudForms 4.7.5 security, bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2019:1150 Red Hat Security Advisory: rh-ruby24-ruby security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2019:1148 Red Hat Security Advisory: rh-ruby25-ruby security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHBA-2019:3384 Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: ruby:2.5 bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- USN-3945-1 ruby1.9.1, ruby2.0, ruby2.3, ruby2.5 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
- DSA-4433-1 ruby2.3 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1735-1 ruby2.1 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-2330-1 jruby - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2019:1771-1 Security update for ruby-bundled-gems-rpmhelper, ruby2.5 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2019:1804-1 Security update for ruby-bundled-gems-rpmhelper, ruby2.5 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:1570-1 Security update for ruby2.1 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026