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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-2589

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.10.8 / 15.11.7 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 EE affecting all versions starting from 12.0 before 15.10.8, all versions starting from 15.11 before 15.11.7, all versions starting from 16.0 before 16.0.2. An attacker can clone a repository from a public project, from a disallowed IP, even after the top-level group has enabled IP restrictions on the group.

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

GitLab EE allows attackers to bypass IP restrictions at the group level and clone repositories from public projects using disallowed IP addresses. The vulnerability exists in the IP restriction enforcement mechanism for group-level access controls.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 15.10.8, 15.11.7, or 16.0.2 or later. Alternatively, if immediate upgrade is not possible, review and restrict public project visibility or implement additional network-level access controls.

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:>= 12.0.0, < 15.10.8>= 15.11.0, < 15.11.7>= 16.0.0, < 16.0.2

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
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 your GitLab EE version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin area under /admin/status. Alternatively, check the version file at `/opt/gitlab/version-manifest.txt` or via `gitlab --version`.
    Affected if The installed version falls within: 12.0.0 to 15.10.7, 15.11.0 to 15.11.6, or 16.0.0 to 16.0.1.
  2. Identify groups with IP restrictions enabled
    Navigate to GitLab admin area, go to Groups, and filter for groups that have IP restriction settings configured. Alternatively, query the database: `SELECT name, ip_restriction_settings FROM namespaces WHERE ip_restriction_settings IS NOT NULL AND ip_restriction_settings != '{}';`
    Affected if Any group has IP restrictions (allowlist or blocklist) configured.
  3. Check for public projects within IP-restricted groups
    Review each group with IP restrictions and identify any projects set to 'Public' visibility within those groups. Use the API: `GET /groups/:id/projects?visibility=public` or check project settings under each group.
    Affected if There are public projects located inside groups that have IP restrictions applied.
  4. Verify if the vulnerability condition is met
    Confirm that your GitLab version is affected (step 1) AND you have groups with IP restrictions AND those groups contain public projects. The bypass allows cloning these public projects from IP addresses outside the allowed range.
    Affected if All three conditions are true: affected version range, group-level IP restrictions configured, and public projects exist within those restricted groups.

You are affected if your GitLab EE version is within the affected ranges and you have configured group-level IP restrictions that contain public projects.

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 15.10.8 / 15.11.7 / 16.0.2 or later
Fixed in 15.10.815.11.716.0.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab EE to version 15.10.8, 15.11.7, or 16.0.2 or later. Alternatively, if immediate upgrade is not possible, review and restrict public project visibility or implement additional network-level access controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

15.10.8+ (for 15.10.x branch), 15.11.7+ (for 15.11.x branch), or 16.0.2+ (for 16.0.x branch)

  1. Determine your current GitLab version by checking the GitLab administration panel or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. If running 15.10.x: upgrade to version 15.10.8 or later (15.10.9, 15.10.10, etc.)
  3. If running 15.11.x: upgrade to version 15.11.7 or later (15.11.8, etc.)
  4. If running 16.0.x: upgrade to version 16.0.2 or later (16.0.3, 16.0.4, etc.)
  5. If running 12.0.0-15.9.x: upgrade through intermediate versions to reach 15.10.8 or later
  6. Follow standard GitLab upgrade procedures: backup data, stop GitLab services, install new packages, run `gitlab-ctl reconfigure`, verify the upgrade
Caveat Standard GitLab minor version upgrade; review release notes for deprecation warnings and ensure compatibility with any integrated systems

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2023-2589 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