How severe is CVE-2009-4214?

CVE-2009-4214 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2009-4214 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2009-4214?

CVE-2009-4214 primarily affects Rubyonrails Rails. In total, 55 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2009-4214?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2009-4214 published?

CVE-2009-4214 was published on 2009-12-07 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

CVE-2009-4214

CVE-2009-4214 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Rubyonrails Rails with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-79.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.3)
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-79
Affected product: Rubyonrails Rails
Published: 2009-12-07
Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the strip_tags function in Ruby on Rails before 2.2.s, and 2.3.x before 2.3.5, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving non-printing ASCII characters, related to HTML::Tokenizer and actionpack/lib/action_controller/vendor/html-scanner/html/node.rb.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-4214?: Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the strip_tags function in Ruby on Rails before 2.2.s, and 2.3.x before 2.3.5, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving non-printing ASCII characters, related to HTML::Tokenizer and actionpack/lib/action_controller/vendor/html-scanner/html/node.rb.
How severe is CVE-2009-4214?: CVE-2009-4214 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.3, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2009-4214 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2009-4214?: CVE-2009-4214 primarily affects Rubyonrails Rails. In total, 55 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2009-4214?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2009-4214 published?: CVE-2009-4214 was published on 2009-12-07 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (55)

cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.9.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.13.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:0.14.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.1.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:1.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:rubyonrails:rails:2.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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