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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-4647

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 15.2 before 16.1.5, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.5, all versions starting from 16.3 before 16.3.1 in which the projects API pagination can be skipped, potentially leading to DoS on certain instances.

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's projects API has a pagination bypass vulnerability in versions 15.2 through 16.3.1. Attackers can skip pagination controls to request all projects in a single large request, potentially overwhelming server resources and causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.1.6+, 16.2.6+, 16.3.2+ or later to patch the pagination bypass. Consider rate limiting API endpoints as an additional mitigation.

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:>= 15.2.0, < 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Access the GitLab admin dashboard and navigate to the version information page, or run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` from the GitLab server console, or query the API endpoint `/api/v4/version`
    Affected if The reported version falls within >= 15.2.0 and < 16.1.5, OR >= 16.2.0 and < 16.2.5, OR equals exactly 16.3.0
  2. Confirm projects API endpoint accessibility
    Verify that the `/api/v4/projects` endpoint is exposed and reachable from your network. This can be done by attempting a GET request to this endpoint with valid API credentials
    Affected if The projects API endpoint is accessible without additional restrictions beyond standard authentication
  3. Check if pagination can be bypassed
    Send a request to `/api/v4/projects` without pagination parameters (per_page, page) and observe if the response returns an unexpectedly large number of projects in a single response
    Affected if The API returns all projects in a single request without enforcing pagination limits, indicating the vulnerability is present

If the installed GitLab version is 15.2.0 through 16.3.1 (specifically within the ranges >= 15.2.0 and < 16.1.5, >= 16.2.0 and < 16.2.5, or exactly 16.3.0) AND the projects API is accessible, the environment is affected by this pagination bypass vulnerability.

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 16.1.6+, 16.2.6+, 16.3.2+ or later to patch the pagination bypass. Consider rate limiting API endpoints as an additional mitigation.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.1.5, 16.2.5, or 16.3.1 (16.3.1 recommended as latest stable fix)

  1. Identify current GitLab version by checking the GitLab administration interface or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Determine appropriate upgrade path based on current version (15.2-16.1.4 upgrade to 16.1.5; 16.2-16.2.4 upgrade to 16.2.5; 16.3.0 upgrade to 16.3.1)
  3. Create a full backup of the GitLab instance using `gitlab-backup-create`
  4. Stop GitLab services before upgrade using `gitlab-ctl stop`
  5. Update GitLab using the official package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install gitlab-ce` or `yum update gitlab-ce`)
  6. Start GitLab services using `gitlab-ctl start`
  7. Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:check` to verify the installation
  8. Verify the fix by confirming pagination cannot be bypassed on the projects API endpoint
Caveat Major version upgrades may require database migrations; review GitLab upgrade notes for intermediate steps if jumping multiple minor versions

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2023-4647 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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