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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-5995

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
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 EE affecting all versions starting from 16.2 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 an attacker to abuse the policy bot to gain access to internal projects.

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 · moderate confidence

GitLab EE contains an access control bypass vulnerability in the policy bot component. Attackers can exploit the policy bot to gain unauthorized access to internal projects that should be restricted, bypassing intended authorization boundaries.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 16.4.3, 16.5.3, 16.6.1 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict or disable the policy bot feature for internal projects as a temporary workaround.

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:>= 16.2.0, < 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed GitLab EE version
    Run 'sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info' or check the GitLab admin area under /admin/about to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if The version falls within >= 16.2.0 and < 16.4.3, OR >= 16.5.0 and < 16.5.3, OR equals 16.6.0
  2. Verify the policy bot component is in use
    Navigate to the GitLab admin area and review enabled integrations, or check for any security policy projects or policy bot configurations under the project settings
    Affected if The policy bot feature is enabled or any security policy configurations exist in the GitLab instance
  3. Review internal projects for policy bot assignments
    Check internal projects for configured security policies or policy bot rules. Use the API endpoint '/api/v4/security_policy_projects' or manually inspect project security settings
    Affected if Internal projects have security policies or policy bot configurations applied to them

The environment is affected if the GitLab EE version is within the vulnerable range AND the policy bot component is enabled or configured for any internal projects.

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 EE to version 16.4.3, 16.5.3, 16.6.1 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict or disable the policy bot feature for internal projects as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 16.4.3, 16.5.3, or 16.6.1 (or later)

  1. Review the current GitLab installation by checking /opt/gitlab/version-manifest.txt or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Back up the GitLab database, repositories, and configuration files using `gitlab-backup-create`
  3. Stop GitLab services with `gitlab-ctl stop`
  4. Update the GitLab package using the appropriate package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install gitlab-ee` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update gitlab-ee` for RHEL/CentOS)
  5. Verify the package version matches the target fixed version (16.4.3, 16.5.3, or 16.6.1)
  6. Restart GitLab services with `gitlab-ctl start`
  7. Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:check` to verify the installation is healthy
  8. Confirm the fix by verifying the version shows the patched release
Caveat Review GitLab release notes for any breaking changes between current and target version, particularly for major feature changes or database migrations

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-5995 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