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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-11971

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.3.5 / 18.4.3 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
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 10.6 before 18.3.5, 18.4 before 18.4.3, and 18.5 before 18.5.1 that could have allowed an authenticated attacker to trigger unauthorized pipeline executions by manipulating commits.

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 EE versions 10.6 through 18.5.x contained an authorization flaw where an authenticated attacker could manipulate git commits to trigger pipeline executions they should not have access to. This allows unauthorized CI/CD pipeline triggers without proper approval permissions.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to versions 18.3.5, 18.4.3, 18.5.1 or later. For GitLab installations, this is a standard patch upgrade requiring backup, staging validation, and production deployment following standard change management.

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, < 18.3.5>= 18.4.0, < 18.4.3= 18.5.0

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
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 the installed GitLab EE version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or access the GitLab Admin Area Dashboard to view the exact version number
    Affected if The version falls within 10.6.0 to 18.3.4, 18.4.0 to 18.4.2, or is exactly 18.5.0 - these versions contain the authorization flaw in pipeline trigger handling
  2. Verify CI/CD pipelines are enabled
    Navigate to any project and check if the CI/CD > Pipelines section is accessible, or search for .gitlab-ci.yml files in repositories
    Affected if Pipelines are active - the vulnerability allows authenticated users to trigger unauthorized pipeline executions through commit manipulation
  3. Examine pipeline trigger tokens
    In a project, go to Settings > CI/CD > Pipeline triggers, or query the API endpoint GET /projects/:id/triggers to list configured trigger tokens
    Affected if Any pipeline trigger tokens are configured - the flaw permits bypassing approval checks when triggering pipelines via these tokens
  4. Review protected branch and approval rules
    Go to Settings > Repository > Protected branches and Settings > Merge requests > Approval settings to inspect if approval requirements are enforced
    Affected if Protected branches do not require approvals or merge request approvals are optional - the vulnerability circumvents these authorization controls when triggering pipelines

You are affected if your GitLab EE version is within the vulnerable range (10.6.0 through 18.3.4, 18.4.0 through 18.4.2, or 18.5.0) AND you use CI/CD pipelines, because an authenticated attacker could manipulate commits to trigger pipeline executions without proper approval permissions.

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 18.3.5 / 18.4.3 or later
Fixed in 18.3.518.4.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab EE to versions 18.3.5, 18.4.3, 18.5.1 or later. For GitLab installations, this is a standard patch upgrade requiring backup, staging validation, and production deployment following standard change management.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 18.3.5, 18.4.3, or 18.5.1 (or later stable release)

  1. Identify current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab administration area or running `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Stop GitLab services using `sudo gitlab-ctl stop`
  3. Backup the GitLab database and repositories using `sudo gitlab-backup create`
  4. Update GitLab package: For Omnibus installations, run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce` (or `gitlab-ee` for Enterprise Edition)
  5. For source installations, follow the upgrade path documentation at docs.gitlab.com
  6. After upgrade, run `sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure`
  7. Start GitLab services using `sudo gitlab-ctl start`
  8. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version at Admin Area > Settings > General > GitLab version, which should show 18.3.5, 18.4.3, 18.5.1 or later
Caveat Review GitLab upgrade notes for potential breaking changes between your current version and target version before upgrading

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,110
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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-2025-11971 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