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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-3401

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Developing Published 2023-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.8 / 16.1.3 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 before 16.0.8, all versions starting from 16.1 before 16.1.3, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.2. The main branch of a repository with a specially designed name allows an attacker to create repositories with malicious code.

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 · low confidence
Developing — this CVE was published recently and its authoritative NVD entry is still being established, so we're holding a technical summary until the source data settles rather than publish something unreliable. Re-checking after 2026-08-01.

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:< 16.0.8>= 16.1, < 16.1.3>= 16.2, < 16.2.2

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

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

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 16.0.8 / 16.1.3 / 16.2.2 or later
Fixed in 16.0.816.1.316.2.2
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 16.0.8, 16.1.3, or 16.2.2 (whichever is the next stable release in your version branch)

  1. Identify your current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab admin area or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version: if < 16.0.8, upgrade to 16.0.8; if >= 16.1 and < 16.1.3, upgrade to 16.1.3; if >= 16.2 and < 16.2.2, upgrade to 16.2.2
  3. Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (Omnibus, source, or Helm chart)
  4. Backup your GitLab database and repositories before upgrading
  5. Run the upgrade using your package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install gitlab-ee` for Omnibus)
  6. After upgrade, verify GitLab is running: `gitlab-rake gitlab:check`
  7. Ensure the version is correct: `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
Caveat Review GitLab release notes for breaking changes between your current version and target version before upgrading

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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-2023-3401 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