CVE-2019-16676
Improper Input Validation in simple_form
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
9.8
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
- Record
CVE-2019-16676- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
- Record
CVE-2019-16676- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-0676 No score
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
- Record
EUVD-2019-0676- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx
9.8
Improper Input Validation in simple_form
Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb; a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call
Impact
For pages that build a form using user input, it is possible for an attacker to manipulate the input and send any method present in the form object. For example:
<%= simple_form_for @user do |f| %>
<%= f.label @user_supplied_string %>
...
<% end %>
The string provided in the variable @user_supplied_string would be invoked as a method call inside the @user object (unless the string contains any of the following: password, time_zone, country, email, phone and url).
By manipulation that input, an attacker could do any of the following:
- Code execution (call actions like
#destroy) - Denial of Service (by executing a computation intensive method)
- Information Disclosure (check the presence of methods, leak user information)
Patches
The problem was fixed in version 5.0. Although it's a major version, there should be no issues with upgrading for 4.x. The reason it was released in a major version is that the configuration SimpleForm.file_methods was deprecated in order to fix the problem.
Workarounds
The issue only happens with pages that build forms based on user-provided input. If your application doesn't do that, you're not affected.
A workaround is to explicitly pass which type you want for an input since the issue lies on Simple Form's automatically discovery of input types. This can be done using the as option, like the following:
<%= form.input :avatar, as: :file %>
References
[TDB]
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in https://github.com/plataformatec/simple_form
- Email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
9.8
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
- Record
CVE-2019-16676- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx
9.8
Improper Input Validation in simple_form
Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb; a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call
Impact
For pages that build a form using user input, it is possible for an attacker to manipulate the input and send any method present in the form object. For example:
<%= simple_form_for @user do |f| %>
<%= f.label @user_supplied_string %>
...
<% end %>
The string provided in the variable @user_supplied_string would be invoked as a method call inside the @user object (unless the string contains any of the following: password, time_zone, country, email, phone and url).
By manipulation that input, an attacker could do any of the following:
- Code execution (call actions like
#destroy) - Denial of Service (by executing a computation intensive method)
- Information Disclosure (check the presence of methods, leak user information)
Patches
The problem was fixed in version 5.0. Although it's a major version, there should be no issues with upgrading for 4.x. The reason it was released in a major version is that the configuration SimpleForm.file_methods was deprecated in order to fix the problem.
Workarounds
The issue only happens with pages that build forms based on user-provided input. If your application doesn't do that, you're not affected.
A workaround is to explicitly pass which type you want for an input since the issue lies on Simple Form's automatically discovery of input types. This can be done using the as option, like the following:
<%= form.input :avatar, as: :file %>
References
[TDB]
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in https://github.com/plataformatec/simple_form
- Email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2019-16676
9.8
Plataformatec Simple Form has Incorrect Access Control in file_method? in lib/simple_form/form_builder.rb, because a user-supplied string is invoked as a method call.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2019-16676- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
simple_formRubyGems |
before 5.0.0 | 5.0.0 |
simple_formRubyGems |
before 5.0.0, plus listed versions 0.4.00.51.0.01.0.11.0.2 Show 45 moreShow less1.0.31.0.41.1.01.1.11.1.21.1.31.2.01.2.11.2.21.3.01.3.11.4.01.4.11.4.21.5.01.5.11.5.22.0.02.0.0.rc2.0.12.0.22.0.32.0.42.1.02.1.12.1.22.1.33.0.03.0.0.beta13.0.0.rc3.0.13.0.23.0.33.0.43.1.03.1.0.rc13.1.0.rc23.1.13.2.03.2.13.3.03.3.13.4.03.5.03.5.1 |
5.0.0 |
ruby-simple-formUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.2.0-1 |
None known |
ruby-simple-formUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.2.0-1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-16676 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Plataformatec Simple Form, published September 30, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.40%, the 88th percentile. Fixed in simple_form 5.0.0.
References
github.com/plataformatec/simple_form/commits/master
github.com/plataformatec/simple_form/security/advisories/GHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx
blog.plataformatec.com.br/2019/09/incorrect-access-control-in-simple-form-cve-2019-16676
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16676
github.com/advisories/GHSA-r74q-gxcg-73hx
github.com/heartcombo/simple_form/commit/8c91bd76a5052ddf3e3ab9fd8333f9aa7b2e2dd6
Left out here: 3 versions. The JSON record has them.