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GitLabApplication

CVE-2024-9163

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.10.7 / 17.11.3 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
A business logic error in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 12.1 prior to 17.10.7, 17.11 prior to 17.11.3 and 18.0 prior to 18.0.1 where an attacker can cause a branch name confusion in confidential MRs.

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 business logic error in GitLab allows an attacker to cause branch name confusion in confidential merge requests (MRs). The flaw enables manipulation of branch identification in the MR workflow, potentially allowing unauthorized code changes or information disclosure in private/comfidential MRs.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 17.10.7, 17.11.3, 18.0.1 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement additional access controls and monitoring on merge request operations.

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:>= 12.1.0, < 17.10.7>= 17.11.0, < 17.11.3= 18.0.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify installed GitLab version
    Access the GitLab Admin area and navigate to the Dashboard or use the command 'gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info' on the server to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version falls within 12.1.0 to 17.10.6, 17.11.0 to 17.11.2, or is exactly 18.0.0
  2. Check for confidential merge request usage
    Review GitLab projects to see if any merge requests have been created with the confidential flag enabled, or check project-level settings for merge request confidentiality features
    Affected if Confidential or private merge requests are in use on the GitLab instance
  3. Verify merge request workflow configuration
    Inspect project settings under Settings > Merge requests to confirm that confidential merge requests are permitted or have been used
    Affected if Confidential merge request features are enabled or have been used in any project

The environment is affected if GitLab version is in the vulnerable range (12.1.0-17.10.6, 17.11.0-17.11.2, or 18.0.0) AND confidential merge requests are being used on the instance.

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 17.10.7 / 17.11.3 or later
Fixed in 17.10.717.11.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 17.10.7, 17.11.3, 18.0.1 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement additional access controls and monitoring on merge request operations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 17.10.7, 17.11.3, or 18.0.1 (or later in the same minor series)

  1. 1. Identify the current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab Administration area or checking the /help/version endpoint
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on current version (12.1.0 to 17.10.6 uses 17.10.7+, 17.11.0-17.11.2 uses 17.11.3+, 18.0.0 uses 18.0.1+)
  3. 3. Back up the GitLab database and repositories before upgrading
  4. 4. Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (Omnibus or source)
  5. 5. Stop GitLab services before performing the upgrade
  6. 6. Install the appropriate fixed version (17.10.7, 17.11.3, or 18.0.1 or later)
  7. 7. Reconfigure GitLab: sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
  8. 8. Restart GitLab services: sudo gitlab-ctl restart
Caveat Review GitLab upgrade notes for any between-version breaking changes; major version jumps may require additional migration steps

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-2024-9163 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