CVE-2011-4121

The OpenSSL extension of Ruby (Git trunk) versions after 2011-09-01 up to 2011-11-03 always generated an exponent value of '1' to be used for private RSA key generation. A remote attacker could use this flaw to bypass or corrupt integrity of services, depending on strong private RSA keys generation mechanism.

Published: 2019-11-26 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2011-4121 is rated High Risk (70.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.53%). EPSS rose +2.43% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2011-4121

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 0.10% 2.53% +2.43%
2 2025-04-07 0.20% 0.10% -0.10%
3 2025-03-30 — 0.20% —

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2011-4121

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/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:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
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.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2011-4121

OS Trackers for CVE-2011-4121

vendor priority summary link
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-4121
ubuntu high CVE-2011-4121 high priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (ruby1.9.1), 6 status rows across 6 suites (hardy, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, upstream): not-affected 4, DNE 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2011-4121

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2011-4121

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ruby-lang ruby >= 1.8.7.334, < 1.9.3 cpe:2.3:a:ruby-lang:ruby:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2011-4121

cvelogic Threat Intelligence