RailsApplication · Rubyonrails
CVE-2014-0080
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSQL injection vulnerability in activerecord/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/postgresql/cast.rb in Active Record in Ruby on Rails 4.0.x before 4.0.3, and 4.1.0.beta1, when PostgreSQL is used, allows remote attackers to execute "add data" SQL commands via vectors involving \ (backslash) characters that are not properly handled in operations on array columns.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in Active Record's PostgreSQL adapter (cast.rb) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via backslash characters not properly escaped in array column operations. The vulnerability affects Rails 4.0.x before 4.0.3 and 4.1.0.beta1 when using PostgreSQL with array columns.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
RailsApplication
= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.1.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Rails versionExamine your Gemfile, Gemfile.lock, or run `rails --version` in your application directory to determine the Rails gem versionAffected if The version is 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, or 4.1.0 (4.1.0.beta1)
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Confirm PostgreSQL is the active database adapterInspect your config/database.yml file and check the adapter setting for your environmentAffected if The adapter is set to 'postgresql'
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Verify the presence of PostgreSQL array columnsSearch your migration files for 't.array' column definitions or inspect your model files for array-type column declarationsAffected if Your application uses array columns in PostgreSQL tables (PostgreSQL-specific feature)
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Inspect the vulnerable PostgreSQL adapter fileLocate the cast.rb file in your Active Record PostgreSQL adapter directory (typically in activerecord/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/postgresql/) and check if the quote method properly escapes backslashes in array operationsAffected if The code does not properly escape backslash characters in the array column quoting logic
You are affected if your Rails version is 4.0.0 through 4.0.2 or 4.1.0, you use PostgreSQL with array columns, and the vulnerable escape logic is present in your PostgreSQL adapter.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Ruby on Rails to version 4.0.3 or later to receive the patch that properly escapes backslash characters in PostgreSQL array column operations.
Fix this in Rails
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-0080 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-0080 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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