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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-1787

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.9.4 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
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 15.9 before 15.9.4, all versions starting from 15.10 before 15.10.1. A search timeout could be triggered if a specific HTML payload was used in the issue description.

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 denial-of-service vulnerability in GitLab allows attackers to trigger a search timeout by inserting a specific HTML payload into an issue description. The malformed payload causes excessive resource consumption during search operations, rendering the search functionality unavailable until the timeout occurs.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 15.9.4, 15.10.1, or later. Alternatively, restrict the ability to create/edit issues to trusted users until the upgrade can be performed.

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:>= 15.9.0, < 15.9.4= 15.10.0

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
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 installed GitLab version
    Run 'sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info' or access the GitLab admin dashboard and navigate to the version information section
    Affected if Version is 15.9.0, 15.9.1, 15.9.2, 15.9.3, or 15.10.0 exactly, or falls within range >= 15.9.0 and < 15.9.4
  2. Confirm GitLab edition and exact version string
    Check /opt/gitlab/embedded/service/gitlab-rails/VERSION file or run 'gitlab-rake gitlab:git:version' to get the complete version including CE/EE designation
    Affected if Version string matches the affected ranges (15.9.x before 15.9.4, or exactly 15.10.0)
  3. Verify issue tracking is enabled
    Navigate to GitLab project settings > Issues or check via API endpoint /projects/:id to confirm the issues feature is active
    Affected if Issues are enabled and users can create or edit issue descriptions
  4. Test search functionality responsiveness
    Perform a search query using the global search or issue-specific search bar and observe response time
    Affected if Search completes normally without timeout (vulnerability causes search to hang until timeout occurs)

Environment is affected if running GitLab version 15.9.0 through 15.9.3 or exactly 15.10.0, with the issues feature enabled and search functionality present.

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 15.9.4 or later
Fixed in 15.9.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 15.9.4, 15.10.1, or later. Alternatively, restrict the ability to create/edit issues to trusted users until the upgrade can be performed.

Recommended fix High confidence

15.9.4 or 15.10.1 (or later)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance database and repositories before upgrading
  2. 2. For GitLab installations using Omnibus: run 'sudo gitlab-ctl stop' to stop the instance
  3. 3. For package-based installations, download and install the appropriate package for your platform from gitlab.com
  4. 4. If using 15.9.x series: upgrade to version 15.9.4 or later (recommended: 15.9.4)
  5. 5. If using 15.10.0: upgrade to version 15.10.1 or later (recommended: 15.10.1)
  6. 6. Run 'sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure' to apply configuration changes
  7. 7. Run 'sudo gitlab-ctl start' to start the GitLab instance
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade by checking the GitLab version in Admin Area > Metrics and profiling > Version

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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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-2023-1787 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