CVE-2016-2098

HIGHNVD 7.37.3—Weaponized

7.3

EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.

High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 81%

CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 81%CVSS: 7.3Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

Action Pack in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22.2, 4.x before 4.1.14.2, and 4.2.x before 4.2.5.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Ruby code by leveraging an application's unrestricted use of the render method.

CVSS v3: 7.3
EG Score: 7.3(medium)
EPSS: 99.6%
KEV: Not listed

Published

April 7, 2016

Last Modified

May 6, 2026

References (24)

secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00057.html
secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00080.html
secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00083.html
secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00086.html
secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00006.html
secalert@redhathttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00053.html
secalert@redhathttp://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2016/2/29/Rails-4-2-5-2-4-1-14-2-3-2-22-2-have-been-released/
secalert@redhathttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3509
secalert@redhathttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/83725
secalert@redhathttp://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035122
secalert@redhathttps://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=rubyonrails-security/ly-IH-fxr_Q/WLoOhcMZIAAJ
secalert@redhathttps://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40086/
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00057.html
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00080.html
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00083.html

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2016-2098(3)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Patch Availability(3)

Vendor / Ecosystem	Fixed in / Patch	Released	Source
redhat	ror40-rubygem-activesupport-1:4.0.2-4.el7	2016-03-15	redhat
redhat	ruby193-rubygem-activesupport-1:3.2.8-6.el7	2016-03-15	redhat
redhat	rh-ror41-rubygem-actionview-0:4.1.5-5.el7	2016-03-15	redhat

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)

RubyGems(1)

Package	Vulnerable range	Fixed in	Dependents
actionpack	4.2.0 ... 4.2.5.rc2 (15 versions)	4.2.5.2	—

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 5× in last 7d / 18× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

2026-07-22 22:01 UTCEG score recompute
2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-20 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-15 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-15 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-13 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-12 11:07 UTCOSV refresh
2026-07-09 19:05 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-23 16:30 UTCOSV refresh
2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore

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2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-10 13:18 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-06 21:59 UTCOSV refresh
2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-22 20:59 UTCEG score recompute
2026-05-22 20:59 UTCVendor advisory
2026-05-21 22:40 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-21 22:36 UTCOSV refresh
2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(7 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (5 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

GitHub PoCShakun8/CVE-2016-2098
First seen Sep 24, 2022
CVE-2016-2098 POC
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCj4k0m/CVE-2016-2098
First seen Aug 31, 2021
Remote code execution vulnerability in Ruby-on-Rails when using render on user-supplied data.
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCDanielHemmati/CVE-2016-2098-my-first-exploit
First seen Jul 27, 2020
This exploit is remote code execution vulnerability in Ruby-on-Rails when using render on user-supplied data
Open source ↗
GitHub PoC0x00-0x00/CVE-2016-2098
First seen Feb 9, 2018
Ruby On Rails unrestricted render() exploit
Open source ↗
Exploit-DBEDB-40086✓ verified
First seen Jul 11, 2016
Ruby on Rails ActionPack Inline ERB - Code Execution (Metasploit)
Open source ↗
GitHub PoChderms/dh-CVE_2016_2098
First seen Mar 1, 2016
Proof of concept showing how CVE-2016-2098 leads to remote code execution
Open source ↗
Metasploitexploit/multi/http/rails_actionpack_inline_exec✓ verified
First seen Mar 1, 2016
Ruby on Rails ActionPack Inline ERB Code Execution
Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2016-2098?

CVE-2016-2098 is a high vulnerability published on April 7, 2016. Action Pack in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22.2, 4.x before 4.1.14.2, and 4.2.x before 4.2.5.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Ruby code by leveraging an application's unrestricted use of the render method.

When was CVE-2016-2098 disclosed?

CVE-2016-2098 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 7, 2016, with the most recent update on May 6, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.

Is CVE-2016-2098 actively exploited?

CVE-2016-2098 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 99.6% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-2098?

CVE-2016-2098 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.3 (NVD).

How do I remediate CVE-2016-2098?

Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2016-2098, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2016-2098

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