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GitLabApplication

CVE-2021-22248

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.12.9 / 14.0.7 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Improper authorization on the pipelines page in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions since 13.12 allowed unauthorized users to view some pipeline information for public projects that have access to pipelines restricted to members only

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 CE/EE versions since 13.12 contained an improper authorization vulnerability in the pipelines page. Public projects could restrict pipeline access to members only, but unauthorized (non-member) users could still view some pipeline information, bypassing the intended access controls.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to the patched version (specific version numbers should be obtained from GitLab's security advisory for this CVE).

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:>= 13.12.0, < 13.12.9>= 14.0.0, < 14.0.7>= 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Identify GitLab version
    Log into GitLab as an administrator, navigate to the Admin Area (wrench icon), and check the version number displayed on the overview page. Alternatively, visit /help which displays version info at the bottom.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 13.12.0 to 13.12.8, 14.0.0 to 14.0.6, or 14.1.0 to 14.1.1.
  2. Locate public projects with restricted pipeline access
    In GitLab, browse to a public project. Go to Settings > CI/CD > General pipelines. Look for the 'Pipeline access' setting. If it is set to 'Only project members' on a public project, this configuration is vulnerable.
    Affected if A public project exists where Pipeline access is set to 'Only project members' (or similar member-only restriction).
  3. Verify unauthorized access as a non-member
    Log out or use an incognito window to access GitLab as an unauthenticated or non-member user. Navigate to the public project identified in step 2, then go to the Pipelines page (CI/CD > Pipelines). Observe whether pipeline information such as status, branch, commit SHA, or pipeline history is visible.
    Affected if Non-member users can view pipeline details (status, jobs, commit info, or pipeline history) despite pipeline access being restricted to members only.

If your GitLab version is affected and you have a public project with member-restricted pipeline access where non-member users can still view pipeline information, then your environment is affected by this CVE.

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 13.12.9 / 14.0.7 / 14.1.2 or later
Fixed in 13.12.914.0.714.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to the patched version (specific version numbers should be obtained from GitLab's security advisory for this CVE).

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 13.12.9, 14.0.7, or 14.1.2 (or later stable releases)

  1. Identify the currently installed GitLab version using `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (13.12.x, 14.0.x, or 14.1.x)
  3. For GitLab self-managed: Follow the standard upgrade procedure using gitlab-ctl reconfigure or the GitLab upgrade documentation
  4. Ensure you have a complete backup before upgrading
  5. After upgrade, verify the pipeline authorization behavior works correctly for projects with member-only pipeline access
Caveat Review GitLab release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and target version, especially when upgrading across minor versions

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-22248 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