CVE-2019-5418

HIGH KEV NUCLEI LAB

Ruby On Rails File Content Disclosure (

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2019-5418 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added July 7, 2025. EIP tracks 13 public exploits from researchers including NotoriousRebel, mpgn, brompwnie, including a Metasploit module auxiliary/gather/rails_doubletap_file_read. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages CVE-2019-5418, a directory traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails, by manipulating the 'Accept' header to disclose arbitrary file contents. The script sends a crafted HTTP request with a malicious header to read files from the server.

Description

There is a File Content Disclosure vulnerability in Action View <5.2.2.1, <5.1.6.2, <5.0.7.2, <4.2.11.1 and v3 where specially crafted accept headers can cause contents of arbitrary files on the target system's filesystem to be exposed.

Exploits (13)

exploitdb WORKING POC
by NotoriousRebel · pythonwebappsmultiple
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46585

This exploit leverages CVE-2019-5418, a directory traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails, by manipulating the 'Accept' header to disclose arbitrary file contents. The script sends a crafted HTTP request with a malicious header to read files from the server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails (versions < 6.0.0.beta3, 5.2.2.1, 5.1.6.2, 5.0.7.2, 4.2.11.1)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target URL · Network access to the vulnerable Rails application
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 201 stars
by mpgn · infoleak
https://github.com/mpgn/CVE-2019-5418

This repository contains a working proof-of-concept for CVE-2019-5418, demonstrating file content disclosure in Ruby on Rails via crafted Accept headers. The exploit leverages a vulnerability in Action View's `render file:` functionality to read arbitrary files on the server.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails (versions before 6.0.0.beta3, 5.2.2.1, 5.1.6.2, 5.0.7.2, 4.2.11.1)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: A vulnerable Ruby on Rails application with a controller using `render file:` without a specified accept format
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 133 stars
by mpgn · infoleak
https://github.com/mpgn/Rails-doubletap-RCE

This repository contains a working exploit for CVE-2019-5418 and CVE-2019-5420, which chain a path traversal vulnerability with a deserialization flaw in Ruby on Rails 5.2.2 to achieve remote code execution (RCE). The exploit retrieves encrypted credentials and the master key, decrypts them, and crafts a malicious request to execute arbitrary code on the server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails 5.2.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Vulnerable Ruby on Rails application (5.2.2) with exposed endpoints · Access to the target server's network
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 35 stars
by brompwnie · poc
https://github.com/brompwnie/CVE-2019-5418-Scanner

This is a multi-threaded Golang scanner designed to identify Ruby endpoints vulnerable to CVE-2019-5418 by attempting to read /etc/passwd via path traversal in the Accept header. It supports both single-target and bulk scanning with various configuration options.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails < 5.2.2.1, < 6.0.0.beta3
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to target Ruby on Rails application · Exposed endpoint vulnerable to path traversal
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 5 stars
by random-robbie · remote
https://github.com/random-robbie/CVE-2019-5418

This is a Go-based scanner for CVE-2019-5418, which targets a path traversal vulnerability in Rails applications. It checks for the presence of '/usr/sbin/nologin' in the response body, indicating a vulnerable system, and logs results to 'rails.log'.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails versions before 5.2.2.1, 5.1.6.2, 5.0.7.2, 4.2.11.1
No auth needed
Prerequisites: List of target URLs or a file containing URLs
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 5 stars
by omarkurt · poc
https://github.com/omarkurt/CVE-2019-5418

This repository contains a working proof-of-concept for CVE-2019-5418, a file content disclosure vulnerability in Rails. The exploit leverages the Accept header to trigger a path traversal, exposing sensitive files like /etc/passwd.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails 5.2.2.1 and earlier
No auth needed
Prerequisites: A vulnerable Rails application with exposed endpoints
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by Bad3r · infoleak
https://github.com/Bad3r/RailroadBandit

This is a functional exploit for CVE-2019-5418, a directory traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails. It allows arbitrary file reads via crafted Accept headers and includes brute-forcing capabilities for sensitive files.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails < 5.2.2.1, < 6.0.0.beta3
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of Ruby on Rails · Network access to the target application
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by kailing0220 · remote
https://github.com/kailing0220/CVE-2019-5418

This PoC exploits CVE-2019-5418, a path traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails that allows unauthorized access to arbitrary files by manipulating the render file parameter. The script checks for the presence of the vulnerability by attempting to read the /robots file and verifying if the response contains 'root'.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails (versions affected by CVE-2019-5418)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target application running a vulnerable version of Ruby on Rails · Network access to the target application
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
github SCANNER
by dyeat · pythonpoc
https://github.com/dyeat/cve-reproduction/tree/main/RubyOnRails/Rails/CVE-2019-5418

The repository contains a Python script that scans for CVE-2019-5418, a path traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails. It sends a crafted HTTP request with a malicious Accept header to attempt reading /etc/passwd and checks for a specific string in the response to determine vulnerability.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails (versions affected by CVE-2019-5418)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: target URL with vulnerable Ruby on Rails instance
devstral-2 · analyzed May 22, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by daehyeok0618 · infoleak
https://github.com/daehyeok0618/CVE-2019-5418

This repository provides a proof-of-concept for CVE-2019-5418, a path traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails that allows arbitrary file reads via manipulated Accept headers. The PoC includes a Docker-based environment for testing and a curl command to exploit the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails <5.2.2.1, <5.1.6.2, <5.0.7.2, <4.2.11.1, and v3
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Ruby on Rails application with vulnerable version · Access to send HTTP requests with custom headers
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by ztgrace · poc
https://github.com/ztgrace/CVE-2019-5418-Rails3

This repository contains a proof-of-concept (PoC) application for CVE-2019-5418, a vulnerability in Rails 3. The PoC demonstrates the vulnerability by rendering a README file, but does not include explicit exploit code or payloads.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails 3.x
No auth needed
Prerequisites: A vulnerable Rails 3 application · Network access to the target application
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by melardev · poc
https://github.com/melardev/CVE-2019-5418

This repository contains a working proof-of-concept for CVE-2019-5418, a directory traversal vulnerability in Rails. The exploit demonstrates how an attacker can read arbitrary files on the server by manipulating the Accept header.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails 5.2.2.1 and earlier
No auth needed
Prerequisites: A vulnerable Rails application with exposed endpoints
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC
by Carter Brainerd <[email protected]>, John Hawthorn <[email protected]> · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/rails_doubletap_file_read.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2019-5418, a path traversal vulnerability in Ruby on Rails versions <= 5.2.2, to read arbitrary files on the target server by manipulating the 'Accept' header.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ruby on Rails <= 5.2.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target server running vulnerable Ruby on Rails version · Network access to the target server
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

Rails File Content Disclosure
HIGHby omarkurt
Shodan: cpe:"cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails"

References (14)

Core 14
Core References
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46585/
Mailing List, Mitigation, Patch, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/03/22/1
Broken Link, Patch, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2019/3/13/Rails-4-2-5-1-5-1-6-2-have-been-released/
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00042.html
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:0796
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_suse
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-05/msg00011.html
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1149
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1147
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1289

Scores

CVSS v3 7.5
EPSS 0.9432
EPSS Percentile 100.0%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable yes
Technical Impact partial

Lab Environment

COMMUNITY
Community Lab
docker pull mysql:5.6
docker pull redis:latest
docker pull nginx:1.15
+9 more repos

Details

CISA KEV 2025-07-07
VulnCheck KEV 2025-07-07
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2019-0375
CWE
CWE-22
Status published
Products (8)
debian/debian_linux 8.0
fedoraproject/fedora 30
opensuse/leap 15.0
redhat/cloudforms 4.7
redhat/cloudforms 4.6
redhat/software_collections 1.0
rubygems/actionview 5.2.0 - 5.2.2.1RubyGems
rubyonrails/rails 3.0.0 - 4.2.11.1
Published Mar 27, 2019
KEV Added Jul 07, 2025
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026