GitLabApplication
CVE-2023-3993
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 · uneditedAn issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 14.3 before 16.0.8, all versions starting from 16.1 before 16.1.3, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.2. Access tokens may have been logged when a query was made to a specific endpoint.
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 confidenceIn GitLab EE versions 14.3 through 16.2.2, access tokens may be logged in plaintext when queries are made to a specific endpoint, resulting in information disclosure of sensitive authentication credentials.
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
>= 14.3, < 16.0.8>= 16.1, < 16.1.3>= 16.2, < 16.2.2CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed GitLab versionRun command: sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info or check /opt/gitlab/embedded/service/gitlab-rails/VERSION fileAffected if Version falls within 14.3 to 16.0.7, 16.1.0 to 16.1.2, or 16.2.0 to 16.2.1
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Verify GitLab edition is EECheck the installation type - this vulnerability affects GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE) onlyAffected if Running GitLab EE in an affected version range
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Audit application logs for plaintext tokensSearch GitLab logs (typically in /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-rails/production.log) for patterns matching 'token' or 'access_token' in plaintext. Use: grep -i 'token' /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-rails/production.log | grep -v 'REDACTED\|masked'Affected if Plaintext access tokens appear in logs after version upgrade or if the vulnerable endpoint was queried
You are affected if running GitLab EE versions 14.3 through 16.2.1 and logs contain unredacted access tokens from the specific endpoint queries.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped16.0.816.1.316.2.2
Upgrade GitLab EE to version 16.0.8+, 16.1.3+, or 16.2.2+ as appropriate. Audit existing logs for exposed tokens and rotate any potentially compromised access tokens as a precaution.
Upgrade to 16.0.8, 16.1.3, or 16.2.2 (or later stable releases in those branches)
- Identify the current GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
- Stop GitLab services with `sudo gitlab-ctl stop`
- Backup the GitLab database and configuration (e.g., `sudo gitlab-backup create` and backup /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb)
- For Ubuntu/Debian: Run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ee`
- For RHEL/CentOS: Run `sudo yum install gitlab-ee`
- Reconfigure GitLab with `sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure`
- Restart GitLab services with `sudo gitlab-ctl start`
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version with `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
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
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3993 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-3993 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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