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GitLabApplication

CVE-2024-8311

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.2.5 / 17.3.2 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 with pipeline execution policies in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 17.2 prior to 17.2.5, 17.3 prior to 17.3.2 which allows authenticated users to bypass variable overwrite protection via inclusion of a CI/CD template.

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

This GitLab EE vulnerability allows authenticated users to bypass variable overwrite protection by including CI/CD templates. Attackers can circumvent security controls meant to protect sensitive pipeline variables from modification.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 17.2.5, 17.3.2, or later to patch the vulnerability.

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:>= 17.2.0, < 17.2.5>= 17.3.0, < 17.3.2

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
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin panel under Help > Version to find the exact installed version
    Affected if The version is 17.2.0 through 17.2.4, or 17.3.0 through 17.3.1 (inclusive)
  2. Confirm GitLab edition
    Verify this is GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE), not Community Edition (CE), using the same version info command
    Affected if The installation is GitLab EE (the vulnerability applies only to EE)
  3. Check for CI/CD pipeline usage
    Review projects for .gitlab-ci.yml files or CI/CD configurations in the repository settings
    Affected if CI/CD pipelines are actively configured and used in the environment
  4. Identify CI/CD template usage
    Examine CI/CD configuration files for `include` directives that pull in templates from project templates, remote URLs, or template repositories
    Affected if Any CI/CD pipelines use template includes, particularly from external or shared template sources

You are affected if you run GitLab EE versions 17.2.0-17.2.4 or 17.3.0-17.3.1 AND have CI/CD pipelines that utilize template includes, as this combination enables the variable overwrite bypass.

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 17.2.5 / 17.3.2 or later
Fixed in 17.2.517.3.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab EE to version 17.2.5, 17.3.2, or later to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 17.2.5 or 17.3.2 (or later)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance database and configuration files before proceeding with the upgrade.
  2. 2. Ensure you have adequate downtime window as upgrade may require service restart.
  3. 3. For GitLab installations using Omnibus package: Run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ee' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'sudo yum install gitlab-ee' (RHEL/CentOS).
  4. 4. For installations using source: Clone the specific tag 'v17.2.5' or 'v17.3.2' from the GitLab repository and follow upgrade documentation.
  5. 5. After installation, run 'sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure' to apply configuration changes.
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade by checking GitLab version via 'sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:version' or the UI at /help.
  7. 7. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by verifying pipeline execution policies now properly enforce variable overwrite protection.
Caveat Patch releases typically contain no breaking changes; review release notes for any specific considerations

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2024-8311 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