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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-0186

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.9.6 / 18.10.4 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
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 10.6 before 18.9.6, 18.10 before 18.10.4, and 18.11 before 18.11.1 that could have allowed an authenticated user to cause denial of service under certain conditions by exhausting server resources by making crafted requests to a discussions endpoint.

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 denial of service vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE allows authenticated users to exhaust server resources by sending crafted requests to the discussions endpoint. The attack requires valid authentication but can cause significant resource consumption leading to service unavailability.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.9.6 or later, 18.10.4 or later, or 18.11.1 or later. As a temporary measure, monitor for unusual discussion API activity and consider rate limiting on the discussions endpoint.

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:>= 10.6.0, < 18.9.6>= 18.10.0, < 18.10.4= 18.11.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 the command to display the GitLab version installed on your system (typically 'gitlab-rake gitlab:version' or check the admin area web UI)
    Affected if The version falls within the ranges: >= 10.6.0 and < 18.9.6, OR >= 18.10.0 and < 18.10.4, OR equals 18.11.0
  2. Verify discussions API endpoint is accessible
    Confirm the discussions endpoint is exposed and accessible to authenticated users (typically at /api/v4/projects/:id/discussions)
    Affected if The endpoint is reachable by authenticated users in your environment
  3. Review authentication settings for API endpoints
    Check that user authentication is enabled and valid user accounts exist in the GitLab instance
    Affected if Authenticated users can access the discussions endpoint (this is the precondition for exploitation)
  4. Monitor for unusual discussion creation patterns
    Review request logs or audit trails for spikes in discussion-related API requests, particularly bulk or repetitive requests to the discussions endpoint
    Affected if You observe abnormally high volumes of discussion API requests from individual users or sessions

You are affected if your GitLab version is within any of the vulnerable ranges AND authenticated users have access to the discussions API endpoint.

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 18.9.6 / 18.10.4 or later
Fixed in 18.9.618.10.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.9.6 or later, 18.10.4 or later, or 18.11.1 or later. As a temporary measure, monitor for unusual discussion API activity and consider rate limiting on the discussions endpoint.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.9.6, 18.10.4, or 18.11.1 (depending on your current major/minor version)

  1. Determine your current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab admin panel or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Identify the appropriate upgrade path based on your current version: if running 10.6.0 to 18.9.5, upgrade to 18.9.6; if running 18.10.0 to 18.10.3, upgrade to 18.10.4; if running 18.11.0, upgrade to 18.11.1
  3. Review the GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method (Omnibus, source, or Docker)
  4. Create a full backup of your GitLab instance before upgrading using `gitlab-rake gitlab:backup:create`
  5. Stop GitLab services using `gitlab-ctl stop`
  6. Upgrade GitLab to the appropriate version using your package manager or documented upgrade procedure
  7. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` and confirming the version number
  8. Restart GitLab services using `gitlab-ctl start`
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade considerations apply; review release notes for between-version changes, especially when crossing major version boundaries

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 / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2025-0186 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