GitLabApplication
CVE-2021-22183
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 has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting with 11.8. GitLab was vulnerable to a stored XSS in the epics page, which could be exploited with user interactions.
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 · moderate confidenceGitLab versions 11.8 and later contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the epics feature. An attacker can inject malicious JavaScript code into the epics page content, which executes when other users view or interact with the crafted epic, allowing session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement.
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
>= 11.8, < 13.6.6>= 13.7.0, < 13.7.6>= 13.8.0, < 13.8.2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Identify the installed GitLab versionLog into the GitLab admin interface and navigate to the Help > Version page, or run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` from the command line to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 11.8 to 13.6.5, 13.7.0 to 13.7.5, or 13.8.0 to 13.8.1
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Confirm the epics feature is enabledIn the GitLab admin area, go to Settings > General > Epics settings, or check if the /epics route is accessible to users on your instanceAffected if Epics are enabled and users can create or view epics
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Determine if any epics exist in the systemNavigate to the epics landing page (typically /groups/-/epics) or query the database for records in the epics table if you have database accessAffected if Any epics exist in the system, as these could contain malicious payloads
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Check user access to the epics featureReview which user roles or groups have permission to create or edit epics in the project or group settingsAffected if Users other than administrators can create or modify epics, creating an attack vector for stored XSS
Your environment is affected if you are running a GitLab version within the affected ranges AND the epics feature is enabled with users who can create or view epic content.
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 data13.6.613.7.613.8.2
Upgrade GitLab to the latest stable version that includes the security patch for CVE-2021-22183. As a temporary measure, restrict access to the epics feature and educate users about not clicking suspicious links.
Fix this in GitLab
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22183 — 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-2021-22183 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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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.
- 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