Vulnerability · CVE-2023-22796
A regular expression based DoS vulnerability in Active Support <6.1.7.1 and <7.0.4.1.
Published Feb 9, 2023 · catalog updated Oct 24, 2026 · activesupport project
Last checked Oct 25, 2026. A connected source was read within the last 7 days.
Check if you run it
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2023-22796. EPSS is 1.71%. Act only if a listed version of activesupport project is installed.
Gaps on this record
- No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
- Severity
- High7.5
- Known exploitation
- Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
- EPSS
- 1.71%
- Remediation
- Version ranges on file
- Affected products
- cpe activesupport project/activesupport
A regular expression based DoS vulnerability in Active Support <6.1.7.1 and <7.0.4.1. A specially crafted string passed to the underscore method can cause the regular expression engine to enter a state of catastrophic backtracking. This can cause the process to use large amounts of CPU and memory, leading to a possible DoS vulnerability.
Are you affected?
Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.
The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.
- cpe activesupport project/activesupport< 6.1.7.1
- cpe activesupport project/activesupport< 7.0.4.1
How to fix CVE-2023-22796
Upgrade
CVE-2023-22796 lists a fix boundary at 6.1.7.1. Compare the installed build with that boundary before you change production.
Version check
Affected < 6.1.7.1
Advisory
Open the cve_org record and follow its fix.
Official advisories
What to do
Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.
Should you patch?
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2023-22796. EPSS is 1.71%. Act only if a listed version of activesupport project is installed.
Which versions are affected?
Compare what you have installed with activesupport project/activesupport < 6.1.7.1; activesupport project/activesupport < 7.0.4.1. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.
What should an analyst verify?
CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity; CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. EPSS 1.71%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
No public source repository is identified for this product.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
Feb 9, 2023 · NIST NVD
Detected
A regular expression based DoS vulnerability in Active Support <6.1.7.1 and <7.0.4.1. A specially crafted string passed to the underscore method can cause the regular expression engine to enter a state of catastrophic backtracking. This can cause the process to use large amounts of CPU and memory, leading to a possible DoS vulnerability.
Oct 24, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
A regular expression based DoS vulnerability in Active Support <6.1.7.1 and <7.0.4.1. A specially crafted string passed to the underscore method can cause the regular expression engine to enter a state of catastrophic backtracking. This can cause the process to use large amounts of CPU and memory, leading to a possible DoS vulnerability.
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2023-22796
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2023-22796
A regular expression based DoS vulnerability in Active Support <6.1.7.1 and <7.0.4.1. A specially crafted string passed to the underscore method can cause the regular expression engine to enter a state of catastrophic backtracking. This can cause the process to use large amounts
nvd.nist.gov
References
Freshness
Last verified in this catalog Oct 25, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.
- CVE.orgOct 24, 2026
- NIST NVDOct 24, 2026