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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-3210

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.1.5 / 16.2.5 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
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
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 15.11 before 16.1.5, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.5, all versions starting from 16.3 before 16.3.1. An authenticated user could trigger a denial of service when importing or cloning malicious content.

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

An authenticated user can trigger a denial of service by importing or cloning malicious content in GitLab versions 15.11 through 16.3.0. The vulnerability lies in the import/clone functionality which fails to properly handle specially crafted content, causing the service to become unavailable.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.1.5, 16.2.5, 16.3.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Until upgraded, limit import/clone permissions to trusted users.

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:>= 15.11, < 16.1.5>= 16.2, < 16.2.5= 16.3.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify your GitLab installation
    Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin panel for version information
    Affected if Cannot determine version indicates GitLab may be present but version is unknown
  2. Determine the installed GitLab version
    Check the output of `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` for the version number, or view it in the admin dashboard under Help > Version
    Affected if Version falls within >= 15.11, < 16.1.5 OR >= 16.2, < 16.2.5 OR = 16.3.0
  3. Verify import or clone functionality is enabled
    Check GitLab settings under Settings > Import sources, or inspect whether the import feature toggle is active in the admin area
    Affected if Import sources are enabled for authenticated users and the version is vulnerable
  4. Confirm user authentication is active
    Verify that user authentication is required for repository operations, typically the default configuration in GitLab
    Affected if Authenticated users can access import/clone features

You are affected if your GitLab version is 15.11 through 16.3.0 (excluding patched releases 16.1.5, 16.2.5, and 16.3.1+) AND the import/clone functionality is accessible to authenticated users.

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 16.1.5 / 16.2.5 or later
Fixed in 16.1.516.2.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 16.1.5, 16.2.5, 16.3.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Until upgraded, limit import/clone permissions to trusted users.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 16.1.5, 16.2.5, or 16.3.1 (depending on current branch); preferably 16.3.1 or latest stable 16.x release

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or checking the GitLab admin dashboard.
  2. 2. Based on the current version, upgrade to the appropriate fixed release:
  3. - If on 15.11.x through 16.1.x: upgrade to GitLab 16.1.5 or later
  4. - If on 16.2.x: upgrade to GitLab 16.2.5 or later
  5. - If on 16.3.0: upgrade to GitLab 16.3.1 or later
  6. 3. Follow the standard GitLab upgrade procedure using gitlab-ctl upgrade or the official upgrade path for your installation method.
  7. 4. After upgrade, verify GitLab is operational by checking the admin area and attempting a test import or clone operation.
  8. 5. Ensure the upgrade is completed before allowing untrusted repository imports or clones from unknown sources.
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade risks apply - review release notes for version-specific changes, especially between major versions like 15.x to 16.x

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,416.

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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-2023-3210 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