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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-6682

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.9.7 / 16.10.5 or later.
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 CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 16.9 prior to 16.9.7, starting from 16.10 prior to 16.10.5, and starting from 16.11 prior to 16.11.2. A problem with the processing logic for Discord Integrations Chat Messages can lead to a regular expression DoS attack on the server.

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

A regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vulnerability exists in GitLab's Discord Integration chat message processing. Specifically, the regex pattern used to parse Discord chat messages contains a flaw that can cause catastrophic backtracking when processing specially crafted input, leading to server resource exhaustion.

MitigationUpgrade to GitLab versions 16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 or later. As a temporary measure, consider disabling or rate-limiting Discord integrations until patching can be completed.

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:>= 16.9.0, < 16.9.7>= 16.10.0, < 16.10.5>= 16.11.0, < 16.11.2

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
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check your GitLab installation version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the version file in your GitLab installation directory (typically /opt/gitlab/version)
    Affected if The displayed version falls within these ranges: 16.9.0 to 16.9.6, 16.10.0 to 16.10.4, or 16.11.0 to 16.11.1
  2. Verify if Discord integration is enabled
    Navigate to GitLab Admin Area > Settings > Integrations > Discord notifications, or check the gitlab.yml configuration file for discord services configuration
    Affected if Discord integration is actively configured or enabled
  3. Identify Discord service configuration files
    Look for Discord integration settings in /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb (if using Omnibus) or in the database table named integrations where provider equals 'discord'
    Affected if Discord integration records exist in your configuration
  4. Review Discord message processing behavior
    Monitor server response times when Discord webhook messages are received and processed by GitLab; examine GitLab logs for slow request warnings related to Discord integration endpoints
    Affected if You observe significant latency or timeout errors when Discord sends webhook payloads to GitLab

You are affected if your GitLab version is between 16.9.0 and 16.9.6, between 16.10.0 and 16.10.4, or between 16.11.0 and 16.11.1 AND you have Discord integration enabled or configured.

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 16.9.7 / 16.10.5 / 16.11.2 or later
Fixed in 16.9.716.10.516.11.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to GitLab versions 16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 or later. As a temporary measure, consider disabling or rate-limiting Discord integrations until patching can be completed.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify your current GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:version`
  2. Plan for upgrade following GitLab upgrade documentation (ensure backups are taken and review the upgrade path)
  3. For GitLab 16.9.x: Upgrade to version 16.9.7 or later
  4. For GitLab 16.10.x: Upgrade to version 16.10.5 or later
  5. For GitLab 16.11.x: Upgrade to version 16.11.2 or later
  6. Verify the upgrade completed successfully with `gitlab-rake gitlab:version`
  7. Test Discord Integration functionality to confirm the fix works
Caveat Minor version upgrades within the same major.minor release typically have minimal breaking changes; review GitLab release notes for any noted changes

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2023-6682 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