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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-6564

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Premium and Ultimate affecting versions 16.4.3, 16.5.3, and 16.6.1. In projects using subgroups to define who can push and/or merge to protected branches, there may have been instances in which subgroup members with the Developer role were able to push or merge to protected branches.

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 EE Premium and Ultimate versions 16.4.3, 16.5.3, and 16.6.1 contain an access control bypass where subgroup members with the Developer role could push or merge to protected branches even when they should not have been permitted, due to improper enforcement of subgroup-based protected branch permissions.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to a patched version. Additionally, audit protected branch settings and subgroup memberships to ensure only intended users have push/merge permissions.

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:= 16.4.3= 16.5.3= 16.6.1

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 GitLab version
    Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:version` or check the GitLab admin panel under Help > Version to confirm the exact installed version
    Affected if Version is exactly 16.4.3, 16.5.3, or 16.6.1
  2. Confirm GitLab edition
    Check the GitLab admin panel under Admin Area > Overview > Dashboard or run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` to verify the edition is Enterprise Edition (EE) Premium or Ultimate, not Community Edition (CE)
    Affected if Running GitLab EE Premium or Ultimate (the vulnerability does not affect CE)
  3. Identify subgroups with protected branches
    Navigate to each subgroup's repository settings and review Protected branches under Settings > Repository > Protected branches, noting which subgroups have branches configured as protected
    Affected if Subgroups exist with protected branches configured in the repository
  4. Check Developer role membership in subgroups
    Review subgroup members by going to each subgroup's Settings > Members and identify users granted the Developer role, then cross-reference with who has push or merge access to protected branches
    Affected if Subgroup members hold the Developer role and have push or merge permissions on protected branches

You are affected if running GitLab EE Premium or Ultimate version 16.4.3, 16.5.3, or 16.6.1 AND you have subgroups with protected branches where Developer role members have push/merge access.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to a patched version. Additionally, audit protected branch settings and subgroup memberships to ensure only intended users have push/merge permissions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

16.4.4, 16.5.4, 16.6.2, or later stable versions

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data before performing any upgrade
  2. 2. Plan the upgrade considering your current GitLab installation method (Omnibus, source, or Helm chart)
  3. 3. Review the GitLab upgrade guides for your installation method to understand the upgrade path
  4. 4. Upgrade GitLab to version 16.4.4, 16.5.4, 16.6.2, or a later stable version that includes the security fix
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that subgroup members with Developer role can no longer push or merge to protected branches unless explicitly granted permission
  6. 6. Review protected branch settings in projects using subgroups to confirm the authorization rules are correctly enforced
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade risks apply - review release notes for version-specific changes and ensure compatibility with your CI/CD workflows and integrations

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-2023-6564 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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