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GitLabApplication

CVE-2018-17449

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. Remote attackers could obtain sensitive information about issues, comments, and project titles via events API insecure direct object reference.

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

GitLab versions before 11.1.7, 11.2.x before 11.2.4, and 11.3.x before 11.3.1 contain an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability in the events API. Remote attackers can access sensitive information including issues, comments, and project titles by manipulating object references in API requests, bypassing intended access controls.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 11.1.7, 11.2.4, 11.3.1 or later. Verify that the events API now properly enforces authorization checks before returning sensitive project data.

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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 `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin panel under Help > Version to determine the exact version number
    Affected if The version is less than 11.1.7, or between 11.2.0 and 11.2.3 inclusive, or exactly 11.3.0
  2. Identify if events API is exposed
    Check if API endpoints under /api/v4/events are reachable. Attempt a GET request to /api/v4/events with a valid but low-privilege user token or no authentication
    Affected if The API returns project event data without requiring proper authorization or returns events from projects the requesting user should not have access to
  3. Verify unauthorized event access
    Using an API token from a user with limited project access, query /api/v4/events?action=created or similar parameters and observe if events from private projects outside the user's scope are returned
    Affected if Sensitive events (issues, comments, project titles) from projects the user is not authorized to view are exposed in the API response
  4. Check API authorization configuration
    Review GitLab API access tokens and ensure events API endpoints enforce project membership checks. Compare behavior against GitLab documentation for expected authorization behavior
    Affected if Events from projects the user does not belong to are accessible via direct object reference manipulation in API requests

A user is affected if their GitLab version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the events API returns sensitive project data to users who should not have access to that information.

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. Verify that the events API now properly enforces authorization checks before returning sensitive project data.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 11.1.7, 11.2.4, 11.3.1, or later stable release

  1. Identify the current GitLab version by checking the GitLab administration interface or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Backup the GitLab database and repositories before proceeding with the upgrade
  3. Upgrade GitLab to version 11.1.7, 11.2.4, or 11.3.1 (or a later stable release that includes the fix)
  4. For Omnibus installations, run `gitlab-ctl upgrade` or download the appropriate package from GitLab's downloads page
  5. For source installations, follow the upgrade documentation for the specific version
  6. After upgrade, verify the Events API now properly enforces authorization checks
  7. Test that unauthorized users can no longer access issues, comments, and project titles via the events API
Caveat Point releases within the same major version typically have minimal breaking changes; review GitLab release notes for any noted changes

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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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-2018-17449 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