CVE-2023-28362Network attack vector

Cross-site scripting via illegal redirect characters

Published Jan 9, 2025 · Updated May 2, 2025

Cross-site scripting in Rails Action Pack before 6.1.7.4 or 7.0.0 through 7.0.5 allows remote attackers to run script via redirects. The redirect_to method accepts control characters in a user-influenced URL; a standards-enforcing downstream service can then drop the invalid Location header while leaving the HTML redirect body and its malicious link in place. Exploitation requires user interaction and an application that accepts attacker-controlled redirect URLs and permits external hosts, which Rails 7.0 and later disable by default.

CVSS severity4.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.33%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Cross-site scripting in Rails Action Pack before 6.1.7.4 or 7.0.0 through 7.0.5 allows remote attackers to run script via redirects. The redirect_to method accepts control characters in a user-influenced URL; a standards-enforcing downstream service can then drop the invalid Location header while leaving the HTML redirect body and its malicious link in place. Exploitation requires user interaction and an application that accepts attacker-controlled redirect URLs and permits external hosts, which Rails 7.0 and later disable by default.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-28362
Published
Jan 9, 2025
Updated
May 2, 2025
Vendor
Rails
Product
Action Pack
Classifications
CWE-116, T1204.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 9, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 2, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.1.7.4 <6.1.7.4
  2. Affected versionversion=7.0.5.1 <7.0.5.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Rails · Action Packversion=6.1.7.4 <6.1.7.4; version=7.0.5.1 <7.0.5.1

Published CVSS scores

4.0GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-116Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
T1204.001User Execution: Malicious Link

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo