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GitLabApplication

CVE-2024-2878

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.9.7 / 16.10.5 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 CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 15.7 prior to 16.9.7, starting from 16.10 prior to 16.10.5, and starting from 16.11 prior to 16.11.2. It was possible for an attacker to cause a denial of service by crafting unusual search terms for branch names.

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

A denial of service vulnerability exists in GitLab CE/EE's branch name search functionality. Attackers can cause service disruption by submitting specially crafted search queries for branch names that trigger excessive resource consumption.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to versions 16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider rate-limiting or restricting the branch search feature.

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:>= 15.7.0, < 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify installed GitLab version
    Run command: gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info | grep -i version, or check the Admin Area > Settings > General page for the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is 15.7.0 to 16.9.6, or 16.10.0 to 16.10.4, or 16.11.0 to 16.11.1
  2. Confirm branch search functionality is accessible
    Navigate to any repository on the GitLab instance, locate the branch dropdown or search input, and verify the branch search feature is available to users
    Affected if The branch search UI or API endpoint is accessible without administrative restrictions
  3. Check for evidence of resource consumption
    Monitor CPU and memory usage on the GitLab server during branch search operations, or review GitLab logs for slow search queries: grep -i 'branch.*search' /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-rails/production.log
    Affected if Search queries for branches cause unusual CPU spikes, memory growth, or request timeouts

You are affected if your installed GitLab version falls within 15.7.0 to 16.9.6, 16.10.0 to 16.10.4, or 16.11.0 to 16.11.1 and users can access the branch name search functionality.

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 GitLab to versions 16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider rate-limiting or restricting the branch search feature.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 16.9.7 (if on 15.x-16.9.x), 16.10.5 (if on 16.10.x), or 16.11.2 (if on 16.11.x) - preferably the latest patch in your release line

  1. 1. Identify your current GitLab version by navigating to the Admin Area (or checking gitlab-ctl version)
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version: If running 15.7.x through 16.9.x, target version 16.9.7 or later; If running 16.10.x, target version 16.10.5 or later; If running 16.11.x, target version 16.11.2 or later
  3. 3. Back up your GitLab instance (database, repositories, and configuration files) before upgrading
  4. 4. Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (omnibus or source)
  5. 5. Run the upgrade to the appropriate fixed version (16.9.7, 16.10.5, or 16.11.2 minimum)
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful and GitLab services are running normally
  7. 7. Test that branch search functionality works correctly after the upgrade
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 15.x to 16.x) may include breaking changes; review GitLab release notes for your upgrade path before proceeding

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-2878 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