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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-2242

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.8.6 / 17.9.3 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 improper access control vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 17.4 prior to 17.8.6, 17.9 prior to 17.9.3, and 17.10 prior to 17.10.1 allows a user who was an instance admin before but has since been downgraded to a regular user to continue to maintain elevated privileges to groups and projects.

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

An improper access control vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE allows users who were previously instance administrators but have since been demoted to regular users to retain elevated privileges over groups and projects they formerly administered. This is a privilege persistence flaw where role-based access controls are not properly enforced upon demotion.

MitigationUpgrade to GitLab versions 17.8.6, 17.9.3, or 17.10.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Additionally, audit all user permissions to identify and revoke any elevated access retained by demoted administrators.

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:>= 17.4.0, < 17.8.6>= 17.9.0, < 17.9.3= 17.10.0

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the GitLab admin panel under Help > Version. Alternatively, inspect the /opt/gitlab/version-license file.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 17.4.0 and < 17.8.6; >= 17.9.0 and < 17.9.3; or exactly 17.10.0
  2. Identify former administrators now assigned lower roles
    Query the GitLab database for users whose access_level was previously set to 50 (admin) but is now lower. Run: `sudo gitlab-rails console -e production` then `User.where('access_level != 10').where('admin != true').exists?` or review audit logs for role change events.
    Affected if Any users exist who were demoted from administrator to a lower role but still appear in the system
  3. Review group and project memberships for demoted users
    In GitLab admin area, navigate to Groups and Projects. For each group/project owned by the instance, check the member list for any users with Maintainer, Developer, or higher roles who were formerly administrators. Query via API: `GET /groups/:id/members` and `GET /projects/:id/members`
    Affected if A demoted administrator user still appears as a member with elevated roles (Maintainer, Developer, Reporter, or Owner) on any group or project they previously administered
  4. Check for unauthorized access through group membership inheritance
    Examine group hierarchy and inherited memberships. Use GitLab API to list group members with inherited flag: `GET /groups/:id/members/all` and verify no demoted admins retain access via inheritance.
    Affected if Demoted administrators inherit elevated access through group parent-child relationships

You are affected if your GitLab version is within the vulnerable ranges AND any former administrators who were demoted to lower roles still retain elevated access permissions on groups or projects they previously administered.

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 17.8.6 / 17.9.3 or later
Fixed in 17.8.617.9.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to GitLab versions 17.8.6, 17.9.3, or 17.10.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Additionally, audit all user permissions to identify and revoke any elevated access retained by demoted administrators.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 17.10.1 or later (or 17.8.6 / 17.9.3 for their respective branches)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data and configuration before proceeding with the upgrade.
  2. 2. Identify your current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab administration area or checking the version file.
  3. 3. Plan your upgrade path based on your current version - ensure you upgrade to a version that includes the fix (17.8.6, 17.9.3, or 17.10.1 or later).
  4. 4. For GitLab installations usingOmnibus: Run 'sudo gitlab-ctl stop' to stop GitLab services, then upgrade using your package manager (e.g., 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce' or equivalent).
  5. 5. For source installations: Follow the GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method, ensuring you install version 17.10.1 or later.
  6. 6. After upgrade, run 'sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure' to apply configuration changes.
  7. 7. Restart GitLab services with 'sudo gitlab-ctl restart'.
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade was successful and test that user privilege changes are now properly enforced.
Caveat Review GitLab 17.x release notes for any 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
  • 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-2025-2242 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