CVE-2026-40295
Devise has an Open Redirect via Unvalidated `request.referrer` in Timeoutable Session Timeout Handler
Impact
Devise is an authentication solution for Rails based on Warden. In versions 5.0.3 and below, when the Timeoutable module is enabled in Devise, the FailureApp#redirect_url method returns request.referrer — the HTTP Referer header, which is attacker-controllable — without validation for any non-GET request that results in a session timeout. An attacker who hosts a page with an auto-submitting cross-origin form can cause a victim with an expired Devise session to be redirected to an arbitrary external URL. This contrasts with the GET timeout path (which uses server-side attempted_path) and Devise's own store_location_for mechanism (which strips external hosts via extract_path_from_location), both of which are protected; only the non-GET timeout redirect path is unprotected. Expired-session users can be silently redirected from the trusted app domain to attacker-controlled URLs, enabling phishing and malware delivery while bypassing browser warnings. Note: Rails' built-in open-redirect protection does not mitigate this issue. Devise::FailureApp is an ActionController::Metal app with its own isolated copy of the relevant redirect configuration, so config.action_controller.action_on_open_redirect = :raise (and the older raise_on_open_redirects setting) do not reach it. This issue has been fixed in version 5.0.4.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| rubygems | devise | <= 5.0.3 | 5.0.4 |
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|
| Heartcombo | Devise | before 5.0.4 |
Weakness classification
References
- NVD record
- CVE.org record
- GitHub advisory
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jp94-3292-c3xv
- https://github.com/heartcombo/devise/security/advisories/GHSA-jp94-3292-c3xv
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40295
- https://github.com/heartcombo/devise/commit/025fe2124f9928766fc46520e999633b598d0360
- https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/devise/CVE-2026-40295.yml