Skip to content
Patch Next
Sign inAdd to your agent

← Actionable
Medium, CVSS 6.3

CGI has Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) potential in Util#escapeElement

CVE-2025-27220GHSA-mhwm-jh88-3gjf

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (cgi 0.4.2, 0.3.7, 0.3.5.1), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

Add to your agent

Affected packages

  • RubyGems cgi

    Affected
    < 0.3.5.1>= 0.3.6, <= 0.3.6>= 0.4.0, < 0.4.2
    Fixed in
    0.3.5.1, 0.3.7, 0.4.2

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
6.3 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2025-27220: 0.76% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 55.33 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

There is a possibility for Regular expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) by in the cgi gem. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2025-27220. We recommend upgrading the cgi gem. Details The regular expression used in CGI::Util#escapeElement is vulnerable to ReDoS. The crafted input could lead to a high CPU consumption. This vulnerability only affects Ruby 3.1 and 3.2. If you are using these versions, please update CGI gem to version 0.3.5.1, 0.3.7, 0.4.2 or later. Affected versions cgi gem versions <= 0.3.5, 0.3.6, 0.4.0 and 0.4.1. Credits Thanks to svalkanov for discovering this issue. Also thanks to nobu for fixing this vulnerability.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from ghsa record GHSA-mhwm-jh88-3gjf

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2025-27220

Advisory: CGI has Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) potential in Util#escapeElement
IDs: CVE-2025-27220, GHSA-mhwm-jh88-3gjf
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2025-27220 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:51 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: cgi 0.4.2, 0.3.7, 0.3.5.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- RubyGems cgi: affected < 0.3.5.1; >= 0.3.6, <= 0.3.6; >= 0.4.0, < 0.4.2; fixed in 0.3.5.1, 0.3.7, 0.4.2

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- RubyGems cgi: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on cgi.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mhwm-jh88-3gjf (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-mhwm-jh88-3gjf lists affected ranges: RubyGems cgi >=0 =0.3.6 =0.4.0 <0.4.2)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.

Loading voting…