GitLabApplication
CVE-2023-0485
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 · uneditedAn issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 13.11 before 15.8.5, all versions starting from 15.9 before 15.9.4, all versions starting from 15.10 before 15.10.1. It was possible that a project member demoted to a user role to read project updates by doing a diff with a pre-existing fork.
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 confidenceA broken access control vulnerability in GitLab allowed demoted project members (reduced to user role) to continue reading project updates by viewing diffs against a pre-existing fork. The fork relationship persisted after permission revocation, enabling unauthorized access to project content.
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
>= 13.11, < 15.8.5>= 15.9, < 15.9.4>= 15.11, < 15.11.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed GitLab versionRun `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:version` or check the GitLab admin panel under Help > Version. Compare the version number to the affected ranges: 13.11 to 15.8.4, 15.9.0 to 15.9.3, or 15.11.0.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 13.11 and < 15.8.5, OR >= 15.9 and < 15.9.4, OR >= 15.11 and < 15.11.1
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Identify fork relationships with demoted membersQuery the GitLab database or use the API to list all forked projects. Cross-reference the forking users against the current project member list to identify cases where a user who created a fork no longer has maintainer or developer access to the upstream project.Affected if A fork exists where the forking user was later demoted from maintainer/developer to a lower role but the fork relationship persists
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Review audit logs for unauthorized fork diff accessIn GitLab admin area, go to Monitoring > Audit Events or use the API to query audit events. Search for events of type 'forked' or 'diff' accessed by users who have been demoted in permission level.Affected if Audit logs show fork diff or fork network access from users whose permissions were reduced after the fork was created
You are affected if your GitLab version is in the vulnerable range AND you have forks created by users who were subsequently demoted, with evidence in logs of those users accessing fork diffs after permission changes.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped15.8.515.9.415.11.1
Upgrade GitLab to version 15.8.5, 15.9.4, 15.10.1 or later. Review audit logs for unauthorized fork diff access from demoted users.
Upgrade to GitLab 15.8.5, 15.9.4, or 15.11.1 depending on your current version branch (15.11.1 is the latest patched release)
- Identify the currently installed GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or checking the GitLab admin area
- Determine which version branch your installation falls into (13.11-15.8.x, 15.9-15.10.x, or 15.11.x)
- Backup your GitLab instance before upgrading
- Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (Omnibus or source)
- For GitLab installations using Omnibus: run `apt-get update && apt-get install gitlab-ce` (or gitlab-ee) to upgrade to the required version
- For source installations: clone the specific tag (e.g., `v15.8.5`, `v15.9.4`, or `v15.11.1`) and follow the upgrade instructions
- After upgrade, verify the instance is operational and test that the vulnerability is remediated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in GitLab
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-0485 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-0485 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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