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GitLabApplication

CVE-2021-22252

MEDIUM · 6.5 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 →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A confusion between tag and branch names in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions since 13.7 allowed a Developer to access protected CI variables which should only be accessible to Maintainers

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

A confusion between tag and branch names in GitLab CE/EE allows a Developer to bypass access controls and access protected CI variables intended only for Maintainers. This is an authorization bypass vulnerability where tag references are improperly evaluated against branch protection rules.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to the patched version as specified in the GitLab security advisory. This is a platform-level fix requiring GitLab version update; no application code changes are involved.

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:>= 13.7.0, < 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin area under Help > Version to confirm the exact installed version
    Affected if The installed version falls within 13.7.0 to 13.12.8, 14.0.0 to 14.0.6, or 14.1.0 to 14.1.1
  2. Confirm protected branches exist
    Navigate to Project > Settings > Protected branches in the GitLab UI, or use the API endpoint `GET /projects/:id/protected_branches`
    Affected if Any protected branches are defined in the project
  3. Verify CI variable protection settings
    Navigate to Project > Settings > CI/CD > Variables, or use the API endpoint `GET /projects/:id/variables` to list variables
    Affected if Any CI/CD variables are marked as 'Protected' (the 'Protect' flag is enabled)
  4. Check for Developer role users
    Navigate to Project > Settings > Members, or use the API endpoint `GET /projects/:id/members/all` to list users with Developer role access
    Affected if Any users hold the Developer role on projects with protected CI variables

You are affected if your GitLab version is within the vulnerable ranges AND you have protected CI variables configured on projects where Developer-role users have access.

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 as specified in the GitLab security advisory. This is a platform-level fix requiring GitLab version update; no application code changes are involved.

Recommended fix High confidence

13.12.9 (for 13.x), 14.0.7 (for 14.0.x), or 14.1.2 (for 14.1.x)

  1. Determine your current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab admin area or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Identify which version branch you are on (13.x, 14.0.x, or 14.1.x)
  3. For GitLab 13.x versions: Upgrade to version 13.12.9 or later
  4. For GitLab 14.0.x versions: Upgrade to version 14.0.7 or later
  5. For GitLab 14.1.x versions: Upgrade to version 14.1.2 or later
  6. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest stable release in your respective version line (e.g., 13.12.x, 14.0.x, or 14.1.x)
  7. Follow standard GitLab upgrade procedures including backing up the database and reviewing the upgrade guide for your version
  8. After upgrade, verify the fix by testing that Developer role cannot access protected CI variables through tag/branch name confusion
Caveat Review GitLab release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and target version; some database migrations may require downtime

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
Get the upgrade done

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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-2021-22252 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