PgheroApplication · Pghero Project
CVE-2020-16253
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 · uneditedThe PgHero gem through 2.6.0 for Ruby allows CSRF.
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 · moderate confidenceThe PgHero gem through version 2.6.0 contains a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability. CSRF attacks trick authenticated users into unknowingly executing unintended actions on a web application. PgHero is a PostgreSQL performance monitoring tool typically integrated into Ruby on Rails applications.
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
PgheroApplication
<= 2.6.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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 PgHero gem installationSearch your project for the pghero gem declaration in Gemfile, Gemfile.lock, or bundler audit results. If using Bundler, run `bundle list | grep pghero` or inspect the Gemfile.lock file.Affected if The pghero gem is present in the project dependencies
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Determine installed PgHero versionCheck the version number specified for the pghero gem in Gemfile.lock, or run `bundle exec gem list pghero`. Compare the version to the affected range: any version <= 2.6.0 is vulnerable.Affected if The installed pghero version is 2.6.0 or lower
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Verify Rails CSRF protection configurationInspect your Rails ApplicationController (app/controllers/application_controller.rb) for the `protect_from_forgery` directive. This line enables Rails' built-in CSRF token validation.Affected if The ApplicationController lacks `protect_from_forgery` or the line is commented out, AND pghero version is <= 2.6.0
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Confirm PgHero web interface is accessibleCheck your routes file (config/routes.rb) for PgHero mount points (typically `mount PgHero::Engine => '/pghero'` or similar). Verify these routes are accessible without additional CSRF protection layers.Affected if PgHero routes are mounted and publicly accessible, combined with vulnerable version and missing Rails CSRF protection
A user is affected if their Rails application uses PgHero gem version 2.6.0 or lower AND the application lacks `protect_from_forgery` in the ApplicationController, allowing unauthenticated or authenticated-but-unprotected requests to trigger PgHero actions.
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 dataUpdate PgHero to a version beyond 2.6.0 that includes CSRF protection. Additionally, ensure the Rails application is properly configured with `protect_from_forgery` in the ApplicationController to enable token-based request validation.
Fix this in Pghero
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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 $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-16253 — 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-2020-16253 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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