GitLabApplication
CVE-2023-6840
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 EE affecting all versions from 16.4 prior to 16.6.7, 16.7 prior to 16.7.5, and 16.8 prior to 16.8.2 which allows a maintainer to change the name of a protected branch that bypasses the security policy added to block MR.
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 confidenceA maintainer-level user in GitLab EE can bypass security policies that block merge requests on protected branches by simply renaming the protected branch, effectively circumventing branch protection controls.
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
>= 16.4.0, < 16.6.7>= 16.7.0, < 16.7.5>= 16.8.0, < 16.8.2CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed GitLab EE versionRun command: gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info or check the GitLab admin panel at /admin/application_settings in the Version sectionAffected if Installed version falls within >= 16.4.0 AND < 16.6.7, OR >= 16.7.0 AND < 16.7.5, OR >= 16.8.0 AND < 16.8.2
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Verify presence of protected branchesNavigate to repository settings at /<project>/-/settings/repository/branches and review the Protected branches list, or use API: GET /projects/:id/protected_branchesAffected if Any protected branches exist in the project
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Check for security policies on protected branchesGo to Security and Compliance > Protected branches in project settings, or navigate to /<project>/-/settings/branch_rules to see if any branch protection rules existAffected if Branch protection rules or security policies are configured that should block merge requests to protected branches
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Identify users with Maintainer roleNavigate to project Settings > Members, or use API: GET /projects/:id/members/all to list users with Maintainer role or higherAffected if Any user has Maintainer role or higher on the project who could potentially rename a protected branch
Environment is affected if GitLab EE version is within the vulnerable ranges AND protected branches with security policies exist AND a Maintainer-level user is present who could rename the protected branch to bypass those policies.
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 · scoped16.6.716.7.516.8.2
Update GitLab EE to versions 16.6.7, 16.7.5, 16.8.2 or later to patch this authorization bypass vulnerability.
16.6.7, 16.7.5, or 16.8.2 (or later)
- Review the GitLab upgrade documentation for your current version
- Plan your upgrade path following GitLab's recommended upgrade path
- Back up your GitLab instance data
- Stop the GitLab services
- Upgrade GitLab to version 16.6.7, 16.7.5, or 16.8.2 (or later)
- Verify the upgrade was successful
- Restart GitLab services
- Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by testing that maintainers can no longer bypass security policies when renaming protected branches
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in GitLab
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 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-2023-6840 — 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-2023-6840 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
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- 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
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