Unsanitized user input in deserialization method

• Rule ID: ruby_lang_deserialization_of_user_input
• Languages: ruby
• Source: deserialization_of_user_input.yml

Description

It is bad practice to deserialize untrusted data, such as data that comes from params or cookies, without sufficient verification. Attackers can transfer payloads or malicious code via serialized data, and deserializing such data puts your application at risk.

Remediations

❌ Do not deserialize untrusted data

✅ Prefer pure (data-only) and language-agnostic (de)serialization formats such as JSON or XML

Avoiding language-specific (de)serialization formats reduces the risk of attackers manipulating the deserialization process for malicious purposes.

  user_data = JSON.parse(params[:user])
  # handle any parsing errors

  JSON.load(user)

Resources

• OWASP Deserialization cheat sheet

Associated CWE

• CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

OWASP Top 10

• A08:2021 - Software and Data Integrity Failures

Configuration

To skip this rule during a scan, use the following flag

bearer scan /path/to/your-project/ --skip-rule=ruby_lang_deserialization_of_user_input

To run only this rule during a scan, use the following flag

bearer scan /path/to/your-project/ --only-rule=ruby_lang_deserialization_of_user_input