CVE-2026-33174: rails activestorage · Excessive Memory Allocation
Affects rails activestorageSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.6 Medium · fixed in 8.1.2.1 : update rails activestorage when convenient.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC
- 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 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, 7.2.3.1
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:UExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Mar 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 29 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade rails activestorage to 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1 or 7.2.3.1.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| railsactivestorage | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| railsactivestorage | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| railsactivestorage | Affected
| Fixed in
|
AI-suggested
The primary mitigation is to upgrade Rails Active Storage to versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, or 7.2.3.1 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. Until upgrading, organizations should consider disabling Active Storage proxy delivery mode if feasible or restrict access to it via network controls such as firewalls or web application firewalls (WAFs) that can detect and block suspicious Range headers. Implement rate limiting on HTTP requests to reduce the risk of memory exhaustion attacks. Monitoring application logs for unusually large or malformed Range headers can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, configuring memory limits and resource quotas at the application or container level can prevent a single request from exhausting server memory. Security teams should audit their Rails applications to identify usage of Active Storage proxy delivery and prioritize patching accordingly.
Description
Active Storage allows users to attach cloud and local files in Rails applications. Prior to versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1, when serving files through Active Storage's proxy delivery mode, the proxy controller loads the entire requested byte range into memory before sending it. A request with a large or unbounded Range header (e.g. `bytes=0-`) could cause the server to allocate memory proportional to the file size, possibly resulting in a DoS vulnerability through memory exhaustion. Versions 8.1.2.1, 8.0.4.1, and 7.2.3.1 contain a patch.
References
- github.com/rails/rails/security/advisories/GHSA-r46p-8f7g-vvvg (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/commit/2cd933c366b777f873d4d590127da2f4a25e4ba5 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/commit/42012eaaa88dfc7d0030161b2bc8074a7bbce92a (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/commit/8159a9c3de3f27a2bcf2866b8bf9ceb9075e229b (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.2.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.2.1 (opens in a new tab)