Headline
GHSA-xhvv-3jww-c487: ActiveAdmin CSV Injection leading to sensitive information disclosure
Impact
In ActiveAdmin versions prior to 3.2.0, maliciously crafted spreadsheet formulas could be uploaded as part of admin data that, when exported to a CSV file and the imported to a spreadsheet program like libreoffice, could lead to remote code execution and private data exfiltration.
The attacker would need privileges to upload data to the same ActiveAdmin application as the victim, and would need the victim to possibly ignore security warnings from their spreadsheet program.
Patches
Versions 3.2.0 and above fixed the problem by escaping any data starting with = and other characters used by spreadsheet programs.
Workarounds
Only turn on formula evaluation in spreadsheet programs when importing CSV after explicitly reviewing the file.
References
https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/CSV_Injection https://github.com/activeadmin/activeadmin/pull/8167
ActiveAdmin CSV Injection leading to sensitive information disclosure
Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Dec 27, 2023 in activeadmin/activeadmin • Updated Dec 28, 2023
Package
bundler activeadmin (RubyGems)
Affected versions
< 3.2.0
Patched versions
3.2.0
Description
Impact
In ActiveAdmin versions prior to 3.2.0, maliciously crafted spreadsheet formulas could be uploaded as part of admin data that, when exported to a CSV file and the imported to a spreadsheet program like libreoffice, could lead to remote code execution and private data exfiltration.
The attacker would need privileges to upload data to the same ActiveAdmin application as the victim, and would need the victim to possibly ignore security warnings from their spreadsheet program.
Patches
Versions 3.2.0 and above fixed the problem by escaping any data starting with = and other characters used by spreadsheet programs.
Workarounds
Only turn on formula evaluation in spreadsheet programs when importing CSV after explicitly reviewing the file.
References
https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/CSV_Injection
activeadmin/activeadmin#8167
References
- GHSA-xhvv-3jww-c487
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-51763
- activeadmin/activeadmin#8167
- activeadmin/activeadmin@7af735c
- https://github.com/activeadmin/activeadmin/releases/tag/v3.2.0
- https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/activeadmin/CVE-2023-51763.yml
deivid-rodriguez published to activeadmin/activeadmin
Dec 27, 2023
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database
Dec 28, 2023
Reviewed
Dec 28, 2023
Last updated
Dec 28, 2023
Severity
Moderate
5.2
/ 10
CVSS base metrics
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Weaknesses
CWE-1236
CVE ID
CVE-2023-51763
GHSA ID
GHSA-xhvv-3jww-c487
Source code
activeadmin/activeadmin
Checking history
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csv_builder.rb in ActiveAdmin (aka Active Admin) before 3.2.0 allows CSV injection.