CVE-2026-126075: Possible XSS vulnerability in Active Support MessagePack serializer
Affects activesupportSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.7 Medium : upgrade to 8.1.4.1 when convenient.
Data as of 10 Nov 2026, 22:34 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (GitHub_M) | CVSS 3.1 | 4.7 |
|---|
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 8.1.4.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 10 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade activesupport to 8.1.4.1.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| RubyGemsactivesupport | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
### Impact `ActiveSupport::MessagePack` serializes an `ActiveSupport::SafeBuffer` as its bytes alone and deserializes it as a new `SafeBuffer`, so a buffer that is no longer `html_safe?` (for example, one mutated in place with `gsub!`) is restored as `html_safe`. If such a buffer holds untrusted input and is stored through a MessagePack serializer, rendering it after it is loaded bypasses ERB auto-escaping, possibly leading to XSS. Applications on Rails 8.1 are affected if they use a MessagePack serializer, such as `config.action_dispatch.cookies_serializer = :message_pack` or `:message_pack_allow_marshal`, or `serializer: :message_pack` for `Rails.cache`, `ActiveSupport::MessageVerifier` or `ActiveSupport::MessageEncryptor`, and store a `SafeBuffer` that was mutated in place with untrusted input. Rails 8.0 and earlier do not serialize `SafeBuffer` with MessagePack and are not affected. ### Details The fixed releases serialize a `SafeBuffer` that is not `html_safe?` with a marker and deserialize it as a `String`; a `SafeBuffer` that is `html_safe?` keeps the existing format. Versions without the fix cannot read an unsafe buffer serialized by the fixed releases, so during a rolling deploy a cookie or cache entry holding one could fail to load on a process that has not been upgraded. ### Workarounds Applications that cannot upgrade can convert a `SafeBuffer` to a `String` with `to_str` before storing it in a value that a MessagePack serializer writes. ### Releases The fixed releases are available at the normal locations. Patches for those who cannot upgrade at once: - 8.1: https://github.com/rails/rails/commit/4ca090665976e6fbc471c38689b399f84b43cdc7.patch ### Credit This issue was responsibly reported by HackerOne researcher [jcwilk](https://hackerone.com/jcwilk).
References
- github.com/rails/rails/security/advisories/GHSA-2w9f-fxwj-w2qf (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/commit/4ca090665976e6fbc471c38689b399f84b43cdc7 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/activesupport/GHSA-2w9f-fxwj-w2qf.yml (opens in a new tab)