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GitLabApplication

CVE-2018-15472

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.1.7 / 11.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An issue was discovered in GitLab Community and Enterprise Edition before 11.1.7, 11.2.x before 11.2.4, and 11.3.x before 11.3.1. The diff formatter using rouge can block for a long time in Sidekiq jobs without any timeout.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In GitLab versions before 11.1.7, 11.2.4, and 11.3.1, the diff formatter using the Rouge syntax highlighting library can block indefinitely in Sidekiq background jobs without any timeout mechanism. This allows an attacker to craft inputs that cause the diff formatter to hang for extended periods, leading to denial of service through resource exhaustion and job queue blockage.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 11.1.7, 11.2.4, 11.3.1 or later, which includes proper timeout handling for the Rouge diff formatter in Sidekiq jobs.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
GitLabApplication
Affected:< 11.1.7>= 11.2.0, < 11.2.4= 11.3.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed GitLab version
    Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin panel under /admin/about to find the currently installed version
    Affected if The installed version is before 11.1.7, or is 11.2.0 through 11.2.3, or is exactly 11.3.0
  2. Verify Sidekiq is enabled
    Check if Sidekiq process is running using `ps aux | grep sidekiq` or check GitLab administration area for Sidekiq status
    Affected if Sidekiq is active and processing background jobs
  3. Confirm Rouge-based diff processing is in use
    Rouge is the default syntax highlighter for GitLab; verify this is not overridden in gitlab.yml configuration file under the `markdown` or `highlight` sections
    Affected if Rouge syntax highlighting is enabled (default setting) and diffs with certain code content are being processed
  4. Look for symptoms of blocked jobs
    Monitor Sidekiq queue using `gitlab-rake sidekiq:queue:latency` or check /admin/sidekiq for stuck or delayed jobs, particularly in the `diff_highlight` or `diff_render` job classes
    Affected if Jobs in the queue show extremely long latency or appear stuck without completing

You are affected if you are running a vulnerable GitLab version (before 11.1.7, between 11.2.0-11.2.3, or exactly 11.3.0) with Sidekiq enabled and processing diffs using the Rouge syntax highlighter.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.1.7 / 11.2.4 or later
Fixed in 11.1.711.2.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 11.1.7, 11.2.4, 11.3.1 or later, which includes proper timeout handling for the Rouge diff formatter in Sidekiq jobs.

Recommended fix High confidence

11.1.7, 11.2.4, or 11.3.1 (or any later version in the 11.x series)

  1. Backup your GitLab instance data before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. Plan your upgrade path based on your current version: if on 11.0.x or below, upgrade to 11.1.7; if on 11.2.x, upgrade to 11.2.4; if on 11.3.0, upgrade to 11.3.1
  3. Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (package manager, source, etc.)
  4. After upgrade, verify the GitLab version matches a fixed release using `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  5. Restart any Sidekiq workers to ensure the patched code is loaded
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for your version jump for any migration or configuration changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-15472 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data