CVE-2023-38037

ActiveSupport::EncryptedFile writes contents that will be encrypted to a temporary file. The temporary file's permissions are defaulted to the user's current `umask` settings, meaning that it's possible for other users on the same system to read the contents of the temporary file. Attackers that have access to the file system could possibly read the contents of this temporary file while a user is editing it. All users running an affected release should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately.

Published: 2025-01-09 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Deferred，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-38037 is rated Low Risk (29.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.07%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2023-38037

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 2025-11-21 0.03% 0.07% +0.04%
2 2025-11-18 0.10% 0.03% -0.07%
3 2025-03-30 — 0.10% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-38037

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 0.8 4.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-38037

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-38037

GHSA-cr5q-6q9f-rq6q · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: rubygems — Active Support Possibly Discloses Locally Encrypted Files

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-38037

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-38037 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (rails), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-38037
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-38037
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-38037 medium priority: Ubuntu including 7 source packages (rails, rails-4.0, …), 84 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 60, needs-triage 13, ignored 11. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-38037

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-38037

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2023-38037

cvelogic Threat Intelligence