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GitLabApplication

CVE-2022-2931

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.1.6 / 15.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A potential DOS vulnerability was discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions before 15.1.6, all versions starting from 15.2 before 15.2.4, all versions starting from 15.3 before 15.3.2. Malformed content added to the issue description could have been used to trigger high CPU usage.

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

A denial-of-service vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE allows attackers to trigger high CPU usage by inserting malformed content into issue descriptions. The vulnerability affects all versions before 15.1.6, 15.2.x before 15.2.4, and 15.3.x before 15.3.2.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 15.1.6, 15.2.4, 15.3.2 or later. As a temporary measure, restrict issue creation/editing permissions to trusted users until patching is complete.

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:< 15.1.6>= 15.2, < 15.2.4>= 15.3, < 15.3.2

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin area under Help > Version. Alternatively, check the version file at `/opt/gitlab/version` or via `gitlab --version`.
    Affected if The version is below 15.1.6, or between 15.2.0 and 15.2.3 inclusive, or between 15.3.0 and 15.3.1 inclusive.
  2. Confirm GitLab issue tracking is in use
    Check if any projects have issue tracking enabled by navigating to a project Settings > Issues or running `sudo gitlab-rails console` to query Issue.count
    Affected if Issue tracking is active and users can create or edit issues. The feature is enabled by default in all GitLab installations.
  3. Verify user access to create or edit issues
    Review project and group settings under Settings > Members to see which users or groups have Developer, Maintainer, or Owner roles that permit issue creation and editing.
    Affected if Any untrusted users or public contributors have the ability to create or edit issues, allowing them to trigger the malformed content submission.

A GitLab instance is affected if its version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND issue creation/editing permissions are granted to users who could insert malformed content.

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 15.1.6 / 15.2.4 / 15.3.2 or later
Fixed in 15.1.615.2.415.3.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 15.1.6, 15.2.4, 15.3.2 or later. As a temporary measure, restrict issue creation/editing permissions to trusted users until patching is complete.

Recommended fix High confidence

15.3.2 or later (minimum fixed: 15.1.6 for old branches, 15.2.4 for 15.2.x, 15.3.2 for 15.3.x)

  1. Back up your GitLab instance data and configuration before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. Identify your current GitLab installation method (Omnibus package, source, or Docker)
  3. For Omnibus installations: Run 'sudo apt-get update' followed by 'sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce' (or 'gitlab-ee' for Enterprise Edition)
  4. For Docker installations: Pull and run the new image corresponding to your edition
  5. For source installations: Follow the GitLab upgrade guide for upgrading from your current version to 15.3.2 or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the GitLab version matches the expected fixed release using 'gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info'
  7. Test that issue creation and rendering works properly to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Review GitLab 15.3 release notes for any configuration or database migration requirements 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
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2022-2931 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