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CVE-2021-21289 — Command Injection Vulnerability in mechanize —...

HIGH

Command Injection Vulnerability in Mechanize

Published February 2, 2021Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

This security advisory has been created for public disclosure of a Command Injection vulnerability that was responsibly reported by @kyoshidajp (Katsuhiko YOSHIDA). ### Impact Mechanize `>= v2.0`, `< v2.7.7` allows for OS commands to be injected using several classes' methods which implicitly use Ruby's `Kernel.open` method. Exploitation is possible only if untrusted input is used as a local filename and passed to any of these calls: - `Mechanize::CookieJar#load`: since v2.0 (see 208e3ed) - `Mechanize::CookieJar#save_as`: since v2.0 (see 5b776a4) - `Mechanize#download`: since v2.2 (see dc91667) - `Mechanize::Download#save` and `#save!` since v2.1 (see 98b2f51, bd62ff0) - `Mechanize::File#save` and `#save_as`: since v2.1 (see 2bf7519) - `Mechanize::FileResponse#read_body`: since v2.0 (see 01039f5) ### Patches These vulnerabilities are patched in Mechanize v2.7.7. ### Workarounds No workarounds are available. We recommend upgrading to v2.7.7 or later. ### References See https://docs.rubocop.org/rubocop/cops_security.html#securityopen for background on why `Kernel.open` should not be used with untrusted input. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please open an issue in [sparklemotion/mechanize](https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/issues/new).

Advisory Timeline

  • First published February 2, 2021 (2078 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 2045 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Bundler
Update mechanize to 2.7.7 or later
gem install mechanize -v 2.7.7

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: rubygems (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
mechanize
rubygems
2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.1.1 (+15 more)2.7.7

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-78
    OS Command InjectionMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 7.4 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-21289?
Command Injection Vulnerability in Mechanize This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of HIGH (CVSS score: 7.4/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2021-21289?
CVE-2021-21289 affects mechanize. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2021-21289 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
7.4

High exploitability or significant impact. Prioritize remediation within days.

Also Known As

GHSA-qrqm-fpv6-6r8g

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