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GitLabApplication

CVE-2024-3959

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.11.5 / 17.0.3 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 was discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 16.7 prior to 16.11.5, starting from 17.0 prior to 17.0.3, and starting from 17.1 prior to 17.1.1, which allows private job artifacts can be accessed by any user.

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 CE/EE versions 16.7 through 17.1.0 contained an access control flaw where private job artifacts could be accessed by any authenticated user rather than only authorized users. This is a broken access control vulnerability allowing unauthorized disclosure of potentially sensitive build artifacts.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 16.11.5, 17.0.3, 17.1.1 or later. In the interim, review artifact access logs for unauthorized access attempts and consider restricting artifact download permissions at the project level.

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:>= 16.7.0, < 16.11.5>= 17.0.0, < 17.0.3= 17.1.0

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab Admin Area > Settings > Metrics and Dashboards, or inspect /opt/gitlab/version for omnibus installations
    Affected if The version displayed falls within 16.7.0 to 16.11.4, 17.0.0 to 17.0.2, or equals 17.1.0 exactly
  2. Identify if private job artifacts exist on the instance
    Use the GitLab API endpoint `GET /projects` with parameter `with_jobs=true` to list projects, or query the database table `ci_builds` for records where `artifacts_file` is not null and `artifacts` scope is set to `private`
    Affected if Any project contains job artifacts that are not publicly exposed (artifacts stored as private or project access is restricted)
  3. Verify artifact download permission settings
    Navigate to Project > Settings > CI/CD > General pipelines and inspect the 'Job artifact' settings, or use the API: `GET /projects/:id` and check the `jobs_enabled` and `builds_access_level` fields
    Affected if The `artifacts_access_level` is set to `private` or `enabled` (rather than `public`) AND the GitLab version is in the affected range, indicating unauthorized users could download these artifacts

The environment is affected if GitLab version is 16.7.0-16.11.4, 17.0.0-17.0.2, or 17.1.0 AND the instance hosts at least one project with private job artifacts that could be accessed by any authenticated user.

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 16.11.5 / 17.0.3 or later
Fixed in 16.11.517.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 16.11.5, 17.0.3, 17.1.1 or later. In the interim, review artifact access logs for unauthorized access attempts and consider restricting artifact download permissions at the project level.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 16.11.5 (for 16.7-16.11.x) or 17.1.1 (for 17.0-17.1.x)

  1. 1. Identify current GitLab version by running `gitlab-rake gitlab:version` or checking the GitLab admin area
  2. 2. Determine appropriate upgrade target based on current version: if on 16.7.x - 16.11.4 upgrade to 16.11.5; if on 17.0.x - 17.0.2 upgrade to 17.0.3; if on 17.1.0 upgrade to 17.1.1
  3. 3. Create a full backup of the GitLab instance using `gitlab-backup-create` or the Omnibus backup tool
  4. 4. Test the upgrade in a staging environment matching production configuration
  5. 5. Schedule maintenance window and stop GitLab services
  6. 6. Update GitLab using package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install gitlab-ce` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update gitlab-ce` for RHEL/CentOS)
  7. 7. Reconfigure GitLab with `gitlab-ctl reconfigure`
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade completed successfully and services are running with `gitlab-rake gitlab:check`
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade precautions apply - review release notes for deprecations and ensure database migrations complete successfully

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2024-3959 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