dbcve.org
GitLabApplication

CVE-2021-22236

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Due to improper handling of OAuth client IDs, new subscriptions generated OAuth tokens on an incorrect OAuth client application. This vulnerability is present in GitLab CE/EE since version 14.1.

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 confidence

GitLab incorrectly generated OAuth tokens on the wrong OAuth client application when creating new subscriptions due to improper handling of OAuth client IDs. This could allow tokens intended for one application to be associated with a different OAuth client, potentially leading to unauthorized access to resources or data leakage across applications.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab CE/EE to the patched version. Review existing OAuth tokens and client configurations to verify no unauthorized access occurred through the misrouted tokens.

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:>= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Identify installed GitLab version
    Check your GitLab instance version by navigating to the Admin Area > Dashboard or using the GitLab API/CLI to retrieve the version number
    Affected if The version is 14.1.0 or 14.1.1 (falls within >= 14.1.0, < 14.1.2)
  2. Confirm OAuth application usage
    Review your GitLab OAuth configuration to determine if any OAuth client applications are configured or if users have authorized OAuth access to the instance
    Affected if OAuth applications are configured or OAuth authorization has been granted to any applications
  3. Examine OAuth tokens for anomalies
    Review the OAuth tokens generated in the system, comparing the client_id associated with each token against the intended OAuth application. Look for tokens where the client_id does not match the application the user originally authorized
    Affected if Tokens exist where the associated OAuth client differs from the one the user originally authorized during subscription creation
  4. Audit OAuth client configuration
    List all registered OAuth applications in GitLab and verify that each application's client_id matches the expected configuration. Check for duplicate or unexpected client_id values
    Affected if Multiple OAuth applications share the same client_id or unexpected client_id values are present in the configuration

You are affected if your GitLab version is 14.1.0 or 14.1.1 AND you have OAuth applications in use, with tokens potentially routed to the wrong OAuth client.

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 14.1.2 or later
Fixed in 14.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab CE/EE to the patched version. Review existing OAuth tokens and client configurations to verify no unauthorized access occurred through the misrouted tokens.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.1.2

  1. Verify current GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Review GitLab upgrade documentation for version 14.1.2
  3. Create a full backup of the GitLab instance using `gitlab-backup-create`
  4. Ensure adequate downtime window for the upgrade process
  5. For package installations (Omnibus), update using `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ee` (Debian/Ubuntu) or `sudo yum install gitlab-ee` (RHEL/CentOS)
  6. After installation, run `sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure`
  7. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version with `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  8. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by verifying the version shows 14.1.2 or later
Caveat Review GitLab 14.1 release notes for any migration or breaking changes before upgrading

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22236 — 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-2021-22236 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