dbcve.org
GitLabApplication

CVE-2019-15722

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.0.8 / 12.1.8 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 8.15 through 12.2.1. Particular mathematical expressions in GitLab Markdown can exhaust client resources.

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

This vulnerability allows attackers to embed specially crafted mathematical expressions in GitLab Markdown that cause excessive client-side resource consumption when rendered, leading to denial of service. The attack exploits how GitLab processes LaTeX-style mathematical notation in Markdown content.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 12.2.2 or later. As a temporary workaround, consider disabling or restricting mathematical expression rendering in Markdown if immediate patching is not feasible.

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:>= 8.15.0, < 12.0.8>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.8>= 12.2.0, < 12.2.3

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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check `/opt/gitlab/embedded/service/gitlab-rails/VERSION` file. Alternatively, visit GitLab admin area at /admin/application_settings or check the UI footer for version number.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 8.15.0 to 12.0.7, 12.1.0 to 12.1.7, or 12.2.0 to 12.2.2 (any version >= 8.15.0 and < 12.0.8, or >= 12.1.0 and < 12.1.8, or >= 12.2.0 and < 12.2.3)
  2. Verify mathematical expression rendering is enabled
    Check GitLab settings for Markdown math rendering. Navigate to Admin Area > Settings > Markdown or check the gitlab.yml configuration file for math/markdown-related settings. Look for settings like `math_markdown_enabled` or similar.
    Affected if Mathematical expression rendering in Markdown is turned ON (the vulnerability only affects environments where this feature is enabled)
  3. Confirm GitLab instance accepts Markdown content
    Verify the GitLab instance hosts repositories, issues, merge requests, or wikis that allow Markdown content. Check if public or internal users can create or edit Markdown-formatted content.
    Affected if The GitLab instance allows users to create or view Markdown content containing mathematical expressions (this is the attack vector)
  4. Identify exposed Markdown rendering points
    Review which GitLab features are publicly or internally accessible that render Markdown: repository README files, issues, merge requests, comments, snippets, wiki pages. Check if unauthenticated or low-privileged users can submit content.
    Affected if Markdown content with mathematical expressions can be rendered where an attacker can inject specially crafted LaTeX expressions

You are affected if your GitLab version is >= 8.15.0 and < 12.0.8, or >= 12.1.0 and < 12.1.8, or >= 12.2.0 and < 12.2.3 AND mathematical expression rendering in Markdown is enabled and accessible to attackers.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.0.8 / 12.1.8 / 12.2.3 or later
Fixed in 12.0.812.1.812.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 12.2.2 or later. As a temporary workaround, consider disabling or restricting mathematical expression rendering in Markdown if immediate patching is not feasible.

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15722 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2019-15722 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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