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GitLabApplication

CVE-2021-39909

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.2.6 / 14.3.4 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
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
Lack of email address ownership verification in the CODEOWNERS feature in all versions of GitLab EE starting from 11.3 before 14.2.6, all versions starting from 14.3 before 14.3.4, and all versions starting from 14.4 before 14.4.1 allows an attacker to bypass CODEOWNERS Merge Request approval requirement under rare circumstances

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 confidence

GitLab EE CODEOWNERS feature lacks email address ownership verification, allowing an attacker to potentially bypass merge request approval requirements under certain rare circumstances by exploiting the verification gap.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 14.2.6, 14.3.4, or 14.4.1 or later to receive the patch for email ownership verification in the CODEOWNERS feature.

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:>= 11.3.0, < 14.2.6>= 14.3.0, < 14.3.4= 14.4.0>= 11.2.0, < 14.3.4>= 11.3.0, < 14.4.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Run `cat /opt/gitlab/version` on the GitLab server, or access Admin Area > Monitoring > Version in the GitLab web UI to view the exact version number
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: >= 11.3.0 and < 14.2.6; >= 14.3.0 and < 14.3.4; exactly 14.4.0; >= 11.2.0 and < 14.3.4; >= 11.3.0 and < 14.4.1
  2. Confirm GitLab edition is Enterprise Edition (EE)
    Check the version output for 'ee' suffix (e.g., 14.3.3-ee) or verify in Admin Area > Monitoring > Version that the edition shows as Enterprise Edition
    Affected if The installed product is GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE)
  3. Identify if CODEOWNERS feature is in use
    Search for CODEOWNERS files in repository: run `find /var/opt/gitlab/git-data/repositories -name 'CODEOWNERS' 2>/dev/null` or check project settings for CODEOWNERS entries under Project > Settings > Repository > Protected branches or merge request settings
    Affected if CODEOWNERS files exist in any project and the CODEOWNERS feature is configured to require approvals

User is affected if running a vulnerable GitLab EE version (as listed above) AND the CODEOWNERS feature is actively used to enforce approval requirements in any project

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 14.2.6 / 14.3.4 / 14.4.1 or later
Fixed in 14.2.614.3.414.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab EE to version 14.2.6, 14.3.4, or 14.4.1 or later to receive the patch for email ownership verification in the CODEOWNERS feature.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.4.1 or later (14.2.6 or 14.3.4 also contain the fix for their respective branches)

  1. Identify your current GitLab version by checking the GitLab administration panel or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Back up your GitLab instance database and repositories before upgrading
  3. Upgrade GitLab to version 14.4.1 or later (recommended: latest stable 14.x release)
  4. For Omnibus installations: run `sudo gitlab-ctl restart` after upgrade
  5. For source installations: restart the GitLab service
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking GitLab version with `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  7. Confirm the CODEOWNERS approval bypass vulnerability is resolved by testing the merge request approval workflow
Caveat Review GitLab 14.4 release notes for any migration requirements 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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,460
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,536.

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-2021-39909 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