GitLabApplication
CVE-2023-5612
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 affecting all versions before 16.6.6, 16.7 prior to 16.7.4, and 16.8 prior to 16.8.1. It was possible to read the user email address via tags feed although the visibility in the user profile has been disabled.
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 confidenceGitLab allows users to set email visibility preferences in their profile, but a vulnerability in the tags feed feature permitted unauthorized disclosure of user email addresses even when visibility was disabled. An attacker could access email addresses via the tags feed without authentication or special privileges.
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
< 16.6.6>= 16.7.0, < 16.7.4= 16.8.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify GitLab installation and versionRun 'gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info' or check /opt/gitlab/version for installed version. In GitLab admin area, navigate to Admin Area > Overview > Dashboard or /help for version info.Affected if The installed version matches < 16.6.6, OR >= 16.7.0 and < 16.7.4, OR equals 16.8.0
-
Confirm tags feed is accessibleAccess the tags feed endpoint - typically at /explore/tags or /:username/tags on the GitLab instance. This endpoint is publicly accessible by default.Affected if The tags feed page loads without requiring authentication or special privileges
-
Verify email disclosure via tags feedOn the tags feed page, examine if user email addresses are visible in project author/commit attribution. Check if emails appear even when user profile email visibility is set to 'Private' or 'Only me'.Affected if Email addresses are displayed in the tags feed for users who have disabled email visibility in their profile settings
You are affected if your GitLab version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the tags feed exposes email addresses despite user privacy settings being configured to hide them.
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 · scoped16.6.616.7.4
Upgrade GitLab to version 16.6.6, 16.7.4, or 16.8.1 or later to patch the information disclosure vulnerability.
16.8.1 or later (16.7.4 for 16.7.x, 16.6.6 for 16.6.x)
- Backup your GitLab instance data and configuration
- Review GitLab upgrade documentation for your deployment method
- Ensure your system meets the requirements for the target version
- Upgrade GitLab to version 16.8.1 or later, or 16.7.4 if staying on 16.7.x, or 16.6.6 if staying on 16.6.x
- Verify the upgrade completed successfully
- Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by testing that user email addresses are no longer exposed via tags feed when profile visibility is disabled
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
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
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-5612 — 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-2023-5612 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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