Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-3760 is a file exposure issue in Sprockets. In affected versions, a specially crafted request could read files outside the application directory when the Sprockets server is used in production. The business risk is leakage of local configuration or sensitive files from exposed web applications.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-facing production applications using affected Sprockets versions. The issue is old but can expose sensitive local files, so legacy Rails estates and long-lived deployments deserve prompt review.
Technical view
The issue is categorized as CWE-22 path traversal. Affected Sprockets releases are 4.0.0.beta7 and lower, 3.7.1 and lower, and 2.12.4 and lower. Public sources name fixed releases 4.0.0.beta8, 3.7.2, and 2.12.5, with vendor advisories from Rails, Red Hat, and Debian.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Ruby or Rails applications that run an affected Sprockets release and use the Sprockets server in production. Applications only using patched versions or not exposing Sprockets in production are less likely to be affected.
Exploitation context
The source bundle states specially crafted requests can access files outside the application root. CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not establish active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
The malformed GitHub reference in the source bundle appears to concatenate multiple commit URLs. Treat commit-level detail cautiously unless independently resolved. The core facts are supported by the CVE description and vendor advisories.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Sprockets to 4.0.0.beta8, 3.7.2, 2.12.5, or later supported releases.
- Apply relevant vendor security updates from Rails, Red Hat, Debian, or your distribution maintainer.
- Do not use the vulnerable Sprockets server behavior in production.
- Check vendor guidance for documented workarounds if immediate upgrade is not possible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Ruby and Rails applications using Sprockets.
- Check dependency lockfiles for affected Sprockets versions.
- Confirm whether Sprockets server is exposed in production.
- Review vendor advisories for environment-specific package names and fixes.
- Inspect web logs for unusual asset requests targeting unexpected local paths.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-3760 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/rails/sprockets/commit/c09131cf5b2c479263939c8582e22b98ed616c5fhttps://github.com/rails/sprockets/commit/9c34fa05900b968d74f08ccf40917848a7be9441https://github.com/rails/sprockets/commit/18b8a7f07a50c245e9aee7854ecdbe606bbd8bb5CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- RHSA-2018:2745CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rubyonrails-security/ft_J--l55fM/7roDfQ50BwAJCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- RHSA-2018:2244CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2018:2561CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2018:2245CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- DSA-4242CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.