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GitLabApplication

CVE-2023-6955

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.5.6 / 16.6.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A missing authorization check vulnerability exists in GitLab Remote Development affecting all versions prior to 16.5.6, 16.6 prior to 16.6.4 and 16.7 prior to 16.7.2. This condition allows an attacker to create a workspace in one group that is associated with an agent from another group.

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 missing authorization check in GitLab Remote Development allows users to create workspaces in one group while associating them with an agent from a different group. This cross-group agent association bypasses proper permission boundaries, enabling unauthorized access to resources controlled by agents in groups the user should not have access to.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.5.6, 16.6.4, 16.7.2 or later to obtain the patch that adds proper authorization validation for workspace-agent group associations.

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:< 16.5.6>= 16.6.0, < 16.6.4= 16.7.0= 16.7.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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:env:info` or check the GitLab admin area (Admin Dashboard > Version) to determine the exact installed version
    Affected if The installed version is < 16.5.6, >= 16.6.0 and < 16.6.4, 16.7.0, or 16.7.1
  2. Verify Remote Development workspaces are active
    Navigate to a project or group, then go to Workspaces (Remote Development) in the left sidebar. Check if any workspaces exist or have been created
    Affected if Remote Development workspaces are in use and the GitLab version is vulnerable
  3. Check for GitLab agents configured in groups
    Go to Group > GitLab Agent (or Project > GitLab Agent) and list all registered agents. Note the group/project each agent belongs to
    Affected if GitLab agents are registered and the version is vulnerable
  4. Identify cross-group agent associations
    Review workspace configurations to see which agents they are associated with. Compare the workspace owner group against the agent owner group to detect any mismatches where the workspace exists in a different group than its associated agent
    Affected if Workspaces exist that are associated with agents from a different group than the workspace owner, indicating the authorization bypass is present

A user is affected if their GitLab version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND they have Remote Development workspaces using GitLab agents, particularly if workspaces may be associated with agents across different groups.

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 16.5.6 / 16.6.4 or later
Fixed in 16.5.616.6.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 16.5.6, 16.6.4, 16.7.2 or later to obtain the patch that adds proper authorization validation for workspace-agent group associations.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 16.7.2 (or 16.5.6 / 16.6.4 for respective major release lines)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data and database before upgrading
  2. 2. Check your current GitLab version in Admin Area > Settings > Metrics and profiling > Version
  3. 3. Update your GitLab package repository: sudo apt-get update (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum check-update (RHEL/CentOS)
  4. 4. Install the updated GitLab package: sudo apt-get install gitlab-ee (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum install gitlab-ee (RHEL/CentOS)
  5. 5. Run GitLab reconfiguration: sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful and GitLab is running
  7. 7. Confirm the version shows 16.5.6, 16.6.4, or 16.7.2 or later
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; always review GitLab release notes for version-specific notes before upgrading

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2023-6955 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