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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-3509

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 16.8.3 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
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 16.7.6, all versions starting from 16.8 before 16.8.3, all versions starting from 16.9 before 16.9.1. It was possible for group members with sub-maintainer role to change the title of privately accessible deploy keys associated with projects in 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 · high confidence

A broken access control vulnerability in GitLab allowed group members with sub-maintainer role to modify titles of privately accessible deploy keys associated with projects within the group, bypassing intended authorization restrictions.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.7.6, 16.8.3, 16.9.1 or later to patch the improper authorization check.

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:<= 16.7.6>= 16.8.0, <= 16.8.3= 16.9.0

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 installed GitLab version
    Log into GitLab as an administrator and navigate to the Admin Area (gear icon) > Overview > Dashboard, or run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` on the GitLab server. The version is displayed on the main GitLab welcome page for admin users.
    Affected if The displayed version is <= 16.7.6, OR >= 16.8.0 AND <= 16.8.3, OR exactly 16.9.0
  2. Confirm sub-maintainer role is available
    In GitLab, go to the Admin Area > Users > Users page and look for users with the 'Sub-maintainer' role assigned at the group level. Alternatively, check group settings under Group > Settings > Members to see if sub-maintainer role is assignable.
    Affected if Sub-maintainer role exists in the GitLab instance (this role was introduced in GitLab 16.x, making the vulnerability applicable)
  3. Check for deploy keys in groups/projects
    Navigate to a project within a group, then go to Settings > Repository > Deploy Keys to see if any private deploy keys are configured.
    Affected if Private deploy keys are configured on projects within groups where sub-maintainer users have access

The environment is affected if the installed GitLab version falls within <= 16.7.6, >= 16.8.0 and <= 16.8.3, or = 16.9.0, and the instance uses groups with sub-maintainer role and private deploy keys.

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 a release after 16.8.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 16.7.6, 16.8.3, 16.9.1 or later to patch the improper authorization check.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.9.1 (or 16.7.7+ / 16.8.4+ depending on your starting branch)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data according to GitLab backup procedures.
  2. 2. Plan your upgrade considering your current version - if on 16.7.x upgrade to 16.7.7+, if on 16.8.x upgrade to 16.8.4+, if on 16.9.0 upgrade to 16.9.1 or later.
  3. 3. Review GitLab upgrade prerequisites for your installation method (package manager, source, etc.).
  4. 4. Perform the upgrade to the appropriate fixed version.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking GitLab version in Admin Area > Metrics and profiling > Version.
  6. 6. Test that sub-maintainer users can no longer modify deploy key titles for private projects.
Caveat Review GitLab upgrade notes for potential compatibility issues between your version and the target version, especially for major version jumps

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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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-2023-3509 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