VulnerabilityPublished 12 Dec 2023Updated 27 May 2025

CVE-2015-8314: Devise gem · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 3.5.4 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.5.4

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

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Dec 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade devise to 3.5.4.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
RubyGemsdevise`pkg:gem/devise`Other threats	Affected <3.5.4	Fixed in 3.5.4

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately verify the version of the Devise gem used in their Ruby on Rails applications and upgrade to version 3.5.4 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. Beyond upgrading, organizations should implement additional security controls such as: 1) Enforce secure cookie attributes (Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite) to reduce the risk of cookie theft via network interception or cross-site scripting. 2) Implement short expiration times for Remember Me cookies to limit the window of opportunity for attackers. 3) Use encrypted and signed cookies to prevent tampering and unauthorized use. 4) Monitor authentication logs for unusual session activity that may indicate exploitation attempts. 5) Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce reliance on persistent cookies for session management. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on session management and authentication mechanisms. 7) Educate developers on secure handling of authentication tokens and session cookies. These measures, combined with patching, will significantly reduce the risk posed by this vulnerability.

Description

The Devise gem before 3.5.4 for Ruby mishandles Remember Me cookies for sessions, which may allow an adversary to obtain unauthorized persistent application access.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2015-8314 can be substantial, especially for those running web applications built on Ruby on Rails that utilize the Devise gem for authentication. Unauthorized persistent access through compromised Remember Me cookies can lead to data breaches involving sensitive personal data, intellectual property, or confidential business information. This is particularly critical under the GDPR framework, where unauthorized access to personal data can result in significant regulatory penalties and reputational damage. The vulnerability could be exploited to impersonate legitimate users, bypassing authentication controls without requiring credentials or user interaction, increasing the risk of insider-like attacks. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, e-commerce, and government services, which often use Ruby on Rails for their web platforms, may face increased risks of session hijacking and unauthorized data access. Additionally, persistent unauthorized access could facilitate further lateral movement within networks, increasing the scope of compromise. The absence of known exploits in the wild does not diminish the potential impact, as the vulnerability's characteristics make it an attractive target for attackers seeking stealthy access.

CWE-312Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to encrypt the data at rest.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of "double encryption" (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Jul 2025, 04:27 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-312

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats