CVE-2020-5247
CWE-113Published: February 28, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
In Puma (RubyGem) before 4.3.2 and before 3.12.3, if an application using Puma allows untrusted input in a response header, an attacker can use newline characters (i.e. `CR`, `LF` or`/r`, `/n`) to end the header and inject malicious content, such as additional headers or an entirely new response body. This vulnerability is known as HTTP Response Splitting. While not an attack in itself, response splitting is a vector for several other attacks, such as cross-site scripting (XSS). This is related to CVE-2019-16254, which fixed this vulnerability for the WEBrick Ruby web server. This has been fixed in versions 4.3.2 and 3.12.3 by checking all headers for line endings and rejecting headers with those characters.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2020-5247 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 7.5.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (14)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-113)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2020-5247 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts