9.1
Critical
puma

CVE-2022-24790

CVE-2022-24790 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in puma (rubygems), affecting versions >= 5.0.0, < 5.6.4. It is fixed in 5.6.4, 4.3.12.

Key facts
CVSS score
9.1
Critical
Attack vector
Network
Issuing authority
GitHub Advisory Database
Affected package
puma
Fixed in
5.6.4, 4.3.12
Disclosed
2022

Summary

When using Puma behind a proxy that does not properly validate that the incoming HTTP request matches the RFC7230 standard, Puma and the frontend proxy may disagree on where a request starts and ends. This would allow requests to be smuggled via the front-end proxy to Puma. The following vulnerabilities are addressed by this advisory: Lenient parsing of Transfer-Encoding headers, when unsupported encodings should be rejected and the final encoding must be chunked. Lenient parsing of malformed Content-Length headers and chunk sizes, when only digits and hex digits should be allowed. Lenient parsing of duplicate Content-Length headers, when they should be rejected. Lenient parsing of the ending of chunked segments, when they should end with \r\n. The vulnerability has been fixed in 5.6.4 and 4.3.12. When deploying a proxy in front of Puma, turning on any and all functionality to make sure that the request matches the RFC7230 standard. These proxy servers are known to have "good" behavior re: this standard and upgrading Puma may not be necessary. Users are encouraged to validate for themselves. Nginx (latest) Apache (latest) Haproxy 2.5+ Caddy (latest) Traefik (latest)

Impact

Severity and exposure

CVE-2022-24790 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment.

A fixed version is available (5.6.4, 4.3.12). Upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

rubygems

  • puma (>= 5.0.0, < 5.6.4)
  • puma (< 4.3.12)

Security releases

  • puma → 5.6.4 (rubygems)
  • puma → 4.3.12 (rubygems)
Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter instead of chasing every advisory.

Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether CVE-2022-24790 is reachable in your applications. Explore open-source security for your team.

See if CVE-2022-24790 is reachable in your applications. Get a demo

Remediation advice

Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:

  • Upgrade puma to 5.6.4 or later
  • Upgrade puma to 4.3.12 or later

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently asked questions about CVE-2022-24790

What is CVE-2022-24790?

CVE-2022-24790 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in puma (rubygems), affecting versions >= 5.0.0, < 5.6.4. It is fixed in 5.6.4, 4.3.12.

How severe is CVE-2022-24790?

CVE-2022-24790 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of puma are affected by CVE-2022-24790?

puma (rubygems) versions >= 5.0.0, < 5.6.4 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2022-24790?

Yes. CVE-2022-24790 is fixed in 5.6.4, 4.3.12. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2022-24790 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-24790 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo

What actually determines whether CVE-2022-24790 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

How do I fix CVE-2022-24790?
  • Upgrade puma to 5.6.4 or later
  • Upgrade puma to 4.3.12 or later

Stop the waste.
Protect your environment with Kodem.