GitLabApplication
CVE-2019-6791
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in GitLab Community and Enterprise Edition before 11.5.8, 11.6.x before 11.6.6, and 11.7.x before 11.7.1. It has Incorrect Access Control (issue 3 of 3). When a project with visibility more permissive than the target group is imported, it will retain its prior visibility.
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 confidenceGitLab incorrectly retains a project's original visibility level during import when the target group has more restrictive visibility settings. This allows a project with permissive visibility (e.g., public/internal) to be imported into a private or restricted group while keeping its original, more permissive visibility, potentially exposing sensitive content.
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
< 11.5.8>= 11.6.0, < 11.6.6>= 11.7.0, < 11.7.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify GitLab versionCheck the installed GitLab version by visiting the GitLab instance (e.g., /-/about page or Admin Area > Settings > Metrics). Alternatively, run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` on the server or check the package version.Affected if The installed version falls into any of these ranges: < 11.5.8, >= 11.6.0 and < 11.6.6, or >= 11.7.0 and < 11.7.1
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Identify imported projectsUse the GitLab API or Rails console to list projects that were created via import operations. Look for projects with the `import_type` attribute set (e.g., 'github', 'gitlab_project', 'gitea', or other import sources).Affected if The instance has projects that were imported from external sources using GitLab's import functionality
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Compare project visibility to parent groupFor each imported project, query its `visibility` attribute and compare it to its parent group's `visibility` attribute. In GitLab API: GET /projects/:id and GET /groups/:id to retrieve visibility levels.Affected if An imported project has a more permissive visibility (public or internal) while its parent group has a more restrictive visibility (private or internal-only)
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Audit all imported projects for permissive visibility mismatchesRun a script via GitLab Rails console: `Project.imported.where('visibility_level > ?', Group.find_by_id(project_id).try(:visibility_level))` or use the API to export all projects and cross-reference with their parent group visibility settings.Affected if Any imported project exists where the project visibility is more permissive than the visibility level of its containing group
You are affected if your GitLab version is below 11.5.8 (or 11.6.6/11.7.1 for respective branches) AND you have imported projects whose visibility is more permissive than their parent group's restrictive settings.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data11.5.811.6.611.7.1
Upgrade GitLab to version 11.5.8, 11.6.6, or 11.7.1 or later. Review existing imported projects to ensure visibility settings match intended group restrictions.
Fix this in GitLab
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-6791 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-6791 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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