CVE-2011-0188

The VpMemAlloc function in bigdecimal.c in the BigDecimal class in Ruby 1.9.2-p136 and earlier, as used on Apple Mac OS X before 10.6.7 and other platforms, does not properly allocate memory, which allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via vectors involving creation of a large BigDecimal value within a 64-bit process, related to an "integer truncation issue."

Published: 2011-03-22 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2011-0188 is rated Moderate Risk (58.3/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.02%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.09% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2011-0188

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.94% 3.02% +1.09%
2 2026-04-16 2.61% 1.94% -0.67%
3 2025-12-28 2.61%

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2011-0188

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2011-0188

OS Trackers for CVE-2011-0188

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2011-0188: 1 GLSA(s) (201412-27), 1 atom(s) (dev-lang/ruby); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2011-0188
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-0188
ubuntu low CVE-2011-0188 low priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (ruby1.8, ruby1.9, ruby1.9.1), 36 status rows across 12 suites (dapper, hardy, karmic, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, precise, quantal, raring, saucy, upstream): ignored 11, not-affected 10, DNE 9, released 5, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2011-0188

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2011-0188

Impact: Per: http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2011/Mar/msg00006.html 'This issue only affects 64-bit Ruby processes'.

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2011-0188

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ruby-lang ruby <= 1.9.2-p136 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9:r18423:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0:r18423:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0-0 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0-0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0-1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0-1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0-2 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0-2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0-20060415 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0-20060415:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.0-20070709 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.0-20070709:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-p0:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-p129:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-p243:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-p376:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-p429:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-preview_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-preview_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.1:-rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.2 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ruby-lang ruby 1.9.2 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:1.9.2:dev:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2011-0188

cvelogic Threat Intelligence