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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-3949

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.4.3 / 16.5.3 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 11.3 before 16.4.3, all versions starting from 16.5 before 16.5.3, all versions starting from 16.6 before 16.6.1. It was possible for unauthorized users to view a public projects' release descriptions via an atom endpoint when release access on the public was set to only project members.

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

GitLab had an authorization bypass where the atom endpoint (used for RSS/Atom feeds) failed to enforce release access controls, allowing unauthorized users to view release descriptions in public projects even when release visibility was configured to restrict access to project members only.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.4.3, 16.5.3, 16.6.1 or later to patch the authorization bypass in the atom endpoint.

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:>= 11.3.0, < 16.4.3>= 16.5.0, < 16.5.3= 16.6.0

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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Identify GitLab version
    Check the installed GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab admin area or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` on the server
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges: >= 11.3.0 and < 16.4.3; >= 16.5.0 and < 16.5.3; or = 16.6.0
  2. Identify public projects with releases
    Review projects set to public visibility that contain releases in the repository
    Affected if There are public projects with releases defined
  3. Check release visibility configuration
    For each public project with releases, navigate to Project Settings > Visibility and verify the 'Release visibility' setting under the releases section
    Affected if Release visibility is set to restrict access (such as 'Project members only' or similar restrictive setting)
  4. Test atom endpoint access
    Access the atom feed endpoint by appending '/-/releases.atom' to a public project's URL and attempt to view it while logged out or as a non-member user
    Affected if The atom feed displays release descriptions to unauthorized users despite release visibility being configured to restrict access to project members only

A user is affected if they run a GitLab version within the affected ranges AND have public projects with releases where release visibility is set to restrict access, yet the atom endpoint still exposes release information to unauthorized 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 16.4.3 / 16.5.3 or later
Fixed in 16.4.316.5.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 16.4.3, 16.5.3, 16.6.1 or later to patch the authorization bypass in the atom endpoint.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.6.1 or later (latest stable 16.x release)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. 2. Review GitLab upgrade documentation for your current version to ensure a compatible upgrade path
  3. 3. Plan for downtime during the upgrade process
  4. 4. Upgrade to GitLab version 16.6.1 or later (recommended: latest stable 16.x release)
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming that unauthorized users cannot access release descriptions via atom endpoints when release access is restricted to project members only
  6. 6. Test with a public project that has release access set to 'only project members' and confirm the atom feed does not expose release descriptions to unauthenticated users
Caveat Review GitLab upgrade notes for potential breaking changes between your current version and target version; major version jumps may require additional migration steps

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2023-3949 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