# CVE-2019-5418: Rails Action View - Path Traversal

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2019-5418 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2019-5418

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 7.5
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** Rails
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'))
- **Tags:** ruby

## Description

There is a File Content Disclosure vulnerability in Action View <5.2.2.1, <5.1.6.2, <5.0.7.2, <4.2.11.1 and v3 where specially crafted accept headers can cause contents of arbitrary files on the target system's filesystem to be exposed.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2019-5418](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5418) is a file content disclosure vulnerability in multiple versions of Rails' Action View, where attackers can exploit specially crafted HTTP accept headers to access arbitrary files on the server. This flaw could be leveraged by remote, unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive files, potentially exposing confidential information and aiding in further attacks.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 5th of August 2025.

CrowdSec network observations suggest that most exploitation of CVE-2019-5418 involves focused reconnaissance to identify viable targets. Attackers typically tailor their campaigns based on system exposure and configuration. It is unlikely that a given attack is accidental.
Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2019-5418 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2019-5418 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Attackers exploit this vulnerability by sending GET requests with a malicious Accept header containing path traversal sequences to disclose sensitive files, but detection is not possible without header inspection.

## Timeline

- 2019-03-27: CVE Published. CVE-2019-5418 is published to NVD.
- 2025-07-07: CISA KEV. CVE-2019-5418 is added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog by CISA.
- 2025-07-28: CISA Remediation Deadline. Expiration of the CISA remediation deadline as described in [BOD 22-01](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities).
- 2025-08-05: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2019-5418 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-08-07: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2019-5418 for the first time.

## References

- https://web.archive.org/web/20190313201629/https://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2019/3/13/Rails-4-2-5-1-5-1-6-2-have-been-released/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46585/
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-05/msg00011.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/03/22/1
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1147
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:0796
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1289
- https://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2019/3/13/Rails-4-2-5-1-5-1-6-2-have-been-released/
- https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/rubyonrails-security/pFRKI96Sm8Q
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/03/msg00042.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Y43636TH4D6T46IC6N2RQVJTRFJAAYGA/
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152178/Rails-5.2.1-Arbitrary-File-Content-Disclosure.html
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1149
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-5418.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2019-5418) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2019-5418. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.