Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity Affecting ruby-redcloth package, versions <4.2.9-5ubuntu0.1~esm1


Severity

Recommended
medium

Based on Ubuntu security rating.

Threat Intelligence

EPSS
1.51% (72nd percentile)

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  • Snyk IDSNYK-UBUNTU1604-RUBYREDCLOTH-5670723
  • published22 Mar 2026
  • disclosed6 Jun 2023

Introduced: 6 Jun 2023

CVE-2023-31606  (opens in a new tab)
CWE-1333  (opens in a new tab)

How to fix?

Upgrade Ubuntu:16.04 ruby-redcloth to version 4.2.9-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 or higher.

NVD Description

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream ruby-redcloth package and not the ruby-redcloth package as distributed by Ubuntu. See How to fix? for Ubuntu:16.04 relevant fixed versions and status.

A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) issue was discovered in the sanitize_html function of redcloth gem v4.0.0. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via supplying a crafted payload.

CVSS Base Scores

version 3.1