Local Code Execution through Argument Injection via dash leading git url parameter in Gemfile
Description
Bundler is a package for managing application dependencies in Ruby. In bundler versions before 2.2.33, when working with untrusted and apparently harmless Gemfile's, it is not expected that they lead to execution of external code, unless that's explicit in the ruby code inside the Gemfile itself. However, if the Gemfile includes gem entries that use the git option with invalid, but seemingly harmless, values with a leading dash, this can be false. To handle dependencies that come from a Git repository instead of a registry, Bundler uses various commands, such as git clone. These commands are being constructed using user input (e.g. the repository URL). When building the commands, Bundler versions before 2.2.33 correctly avoid Command Injection vulnerabilities by passing an array of arguments instead of a command string. However, there is the possibility that a user input starts with a dash (-) and is therefore treated as an optional argument instead of a positional one. This can lead to Code Execution because some of the commands have options that can be leveraged to run arbitrary executables. Since this value comes from the Gemfile file, it can contain any character, including a leading dash.
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker has to craft a directory containing a Gemfile file that declares a dependency that is located in a Git repository. This dependency has to have a Git URL in the form of -u./payload. This URL will be used to construct a Git clone command but will be interpreted as the upload-pack argument. Then this directory needs to be shared with the victim, who then needs to run a command that evaluates the Gemfile, such as bundle lock, inside.
This vulnerability can lead to Arbitrary Code Execution, which could potentially lead to the takeover of the system. However, the exploitability is very low, because it requires a lot of user interaction. Bundler 2.2.33 has patched this problem by inserting -- as an argument before any positional arguments to those Git commands that were affected by this issue. Regardless of whether users can upgrade or not, they should review any untrustred Gemfile's before running any bundler commands that may read them, since they can contain arbitrary ruby code.
Affected packages
Versions sourced from the GitHub Security Advisory.
| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
bundlerRubyGems | < 2.2.33 | 2.2.33 |
Affected products
1Patches
20fad1ccfe9ddChangelog for Bundler version 2.2.33
1 file changed · +29 −0
bundler/CHANGELOG.md+29 −0 modified@@ -1,3 +1,32 @@ +# 2.2.33 (December 7, 2021) + +## Security fixes: + + - Pass "--" to git commands to separate positional and optional args [#5142](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5142) + +## Enhancements: + + - Accept pull request URLs as github source [#5126](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5126) + - Add `--version` parameter to `bundle info` command [#5137](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5137) + - Let original `Errno::EACCES` error be raised in compact index updater [#5110](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5110) + - Improve gemfile-lockfile source equivalence errors [#5120](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5120) + - Avoid float-to-string loss of characters in GitHub Actions configuration labels in new gem template [#5089](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5089) + - Add an initial rbs template to `bundle gem` skeleton [#5041](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5041) + - Avoid shared libraries not getting environment passed right after argv in memory when `bundle exec` is used [#4815](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/4815) + +## Bug fixes: + + - Don't cleanup paths from gems already activated from `$LOAD_PATH` [#5111](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5111) + - Fix handling prereleases of 0 versions, like 0.0.0.dev or 0.0.0.SNAPSHOT [#5116](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5116) + - Fix escape of filenames in `bundle doctor` [#5102](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5102) + - Don't unlock dependencies when running `bundle install` after changing global source [#5090](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5090) + - Fix missing locked specs when depended on another platform [#5092](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5092) + - Fix `bundle info` sometimes claiming that bundler has been deleted [#5097](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5097) + +## Documentation: + + - Ignore to generate the documentation from vendored libraries [#5118](https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5118) + # 2.2.32 (November 23, 2021) ## Enhancements:
a4f2f8ac17e6Add require parameter to `bundle add``
3 files changed · +21 −1
bundler/lib/bundler/cli.rb+1 −0 modified@@ -367,6 +367,7 @@ def binstubs(*gems) method_option "version", :aliases => "-v", :type => :string method_option "group", :aliases => "-g", :type => :string method_option "source", :aliases => "-s", :type => :string + method_option "require", :aliases => "-r", :type => :string, :banner => "Adds require path to gem. Provide false, or a path as a string." method_option "git", :type => :string method_option "branch", :type => :string method_option "skip-install", :type => :boolean, :banner =>
bundler/lib/bundler/injector.rb+8 −1 modified@@ -113,8 +113,9 @@ def build_gem_lines(conservative_versioning) source = ", :source => \"#{d.source}\"" unless d.source.nil? git = ", :git => \"#{d.git}\"" unless d.git.nil? branch = ", :branch => \"#{d.branch}\"" unless d.branch.nil? + require_path = ", :require => #{convert_autorequire(d.autorequire)}" unless d.autorequire.nil? - %(gem #{name}#{requirement}#{group}#{source}#{git}#{branch}) + %(gem #{name}#{requirement}#{group}#{source}#{git}#{branch}#{require_path}) end.join("\n") end @@ -269,5 +270,11 @@ def cross_check_for_errors(gemfile_path, original_deps, removed_deps, initial_ge def show_warning(message) Bundler.ui.info Bundler.ui.add_color(message, :yellow) end + + def convert_autorequire(autorequire) + autorequire = autorequire.first + return autorequire if autorequire == "false" + autorequire.inspect + end end end
bundler/spec/commands/add_spec.rb+12 −0 modified@@ -68,6 +68,18 @@ end end + describe "with --require" do + it "adds the require param for the gem" do + bundle "add 'foo' --require=foo/engine" + expect(bundled_app_gemfile.read).to match(%r{gem "foo",(?: .*,) :require => "foo\/engine"}) + end + + it "converts false to a boolean" do + bundle "add 'foo' --require=false" + expect(bundled_app_gemfile.read).to match(/gem "foo",(?: .*,) :require => false/) + end + end + describe "with --group" do it "adds dependency for the specified group" do bundle "add 'foo' --group='development'"
Vulnerability mechanics
Generated by null/stub on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
10- github.com/advisories/GHSA-fj7f-vq84-fh43ghsaADVISORY
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-43809ghsaADVISORY
- github.com/rubygems/rubygems/commit/0fad1ccfe9dd7a3c5b82c1496df3c2b4842870d3ghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- github.com/rubygems/rubygems/commit/a4f2f8ac17e6ce81c689527a8b6f14381060d95fghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- github.com/rubygems/rubygems/pull/5142ghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- github.com/rubygems/rubygems/security/advisories/GHSA-fj7f-vq84-fh43ghsax_refsource_CONFIRMWEB
- github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/bundler/CVE-2021-43809.ymlghsaWEB
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00015.htmlghsaWEB
- www.sonarsource.com/blog/securing-developer-tools-package-managersghsaWEB
- www.sonarsource.com/blog/securing-developer-tools-package-managers/mitrex_refsource_MISC
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