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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-5009

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.2.7 / 16.3.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 EE affecting all versions starting from 13.12 before 16.2.7, all versions starting from 16.3 before 16.3.4. It was possible for an attacker to run pipeline jobs as an arbitrary user via scheduled security scan policies. This was a bypass of [CVE-2023-3932](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-3932) showing additional impact.

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

An authorization bypass vulnerability in GitLab EE allows attackers to execute pipeline jobs with arbitrary user privileges by exploiting scheduled security scan policies. This vulnerability bypasses the fix for CVE-2023-3932, enabling unauthorized pipeline execution as any user in the affected GitLab instance.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 16.2.7 and later, or 16.3.4 and later to remediate this authorization bypass.

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:>= 13.12, < 16.2.7>= 16.3, < 16.3.4

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 EE version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or access the Admin Area in the GitLab web UI (Admin Area > Overview > Dashboard) to view the exact version number.
    Affected if Version is >= 13.12 and < 16.2.7, OR >= 16.3 and < 16.3.4
  2. Check for scheduled security scan policies
    Navigate to Project > Security > Configuration in the GitLab web UI, or query the API at `/api/v4/security/projects/:id/policies` to list any security scan policies with schedules defined.
    Affected if Any scheduled security scan policies exist in any project on the instance
  3. Audit recent pipeline executions for unauthorized runs
    Review CI/CD pipeline logs via the web UI (CI/CD > Pipelines) or API at `/api/v4/projects/:id/pipelines` for any pipeline jobs executed with unexpected user context or unusual timing.
    Affected if Pipelines exist that were run by users who should not have had permission to trigger them, or pipelines executed outside normal schedules

A user is affected if their GitLab EE version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND scheduled security scan policies are configured on the instance.

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 16.2.7 / 16.3.4 or later
Fixed in 16.2.716.3.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab EE to version 16.2.7 and later, or 16.3.4 and later to remediate this authorization bypass.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 16.2.7 or later (16.2.x branch), or 16.3.4 or later (16.3.x branch). Recommended: 16.3.4 or latest stable 16.x release.

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or checking the GitLab admin area.
  2. 2. If running a version >= 13.12 and < 16.2.7: plan upgrade to 16.2.7 or later in the 16.2.x branch.
  3. 3. If running a version >= 16.3 and < 16.3.4: plan upgrade to 16.3.4 or later in the 16.3.x branch.
  4. 4. If running an older version (prior to 13.12): upgrade to 16.3.4 or later (review GitLab's upgrade path for intermediate steps).
  5. 5. Before upgrading, backup the GitLab database and repositories following GitLab's backup documentation.
  6. 6. Perform the upgrade using the appropriate method (Omnibus, source, or Helm chart depending on installation type).
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` to confirm the fix is applied.
  8. 8. Review pipeline security scan policies to ensure no unauthorized configurations were added during the vulnerability window.
Caveat Minor version upgrades within the same major branch (e.g., 16.2.x to 16.2.7) typically have no breaking changes; major version jumps may require compatibility review.

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-5009 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