Summary
ActiveAdmin CSV Injection leading to sensitive information disclosure
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
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.
CVE-2023-51763 has a CVSS score of 5.2 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, high privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (3.2.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Versions 3.2.0 and above fixed the problem by escaping any data starting with = and other characters used by spreadsheet programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-51763? CVE-2023-51763 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in activeadmin (rubygems), affecting versions < 3.2.0. It is fixed in 3.2.0.
- How severe is CVE-2023-51763? CVE-2023-51763 has a CVSS score of 5.2 (Medium). 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 activeadmin are affected by CVE-2023-51763? activeadmin (rubygems) versions < 3.2.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-51763? Yes. CVE-2023-51763 is fixed in 3.2.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-51763 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-51763 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-2023-51763 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-2023-51763? Upgrade
activeadminto 3.2.0 or later.