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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-2938

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.11.5 / 18.0.3 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 issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 17.3 before 17.11.5, 18.0 before 18.0.3, and 18.1 before 18.1.1 that could have allowed authenticated users to gain elevated project privileges by requesting access to projects where role modifications during the approval process resulted in unintended permission grants.

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

Authenticated users could exploit the project access request approval workflow in GitLab where role modifications during the approval process resulted in unintended elevated permissions, allowing privilege escalation beyond what was granted by administrators.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 17.11.5, 18.0.3, 18.1.1 or later to patch the privilege escalation vulnerability in the access request approval workflow.

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:>= 17.3.0, < 17.11.5>= 18.0.0, < 18.0.3= 18.1.0

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 command: sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info or check /opt/gitlab/embedded/service/gitlab-rails/VERSION file. Alternatively, visit Admin Area > Settings > General > GitLab configuration and look for the version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 17.3.0 and < 17.11.5, OR >= 18.0.0 and < 18.0.3, OR exactly 18.1.0
  2. Verify project access requests are enabled
    Navigate to Project > Settings > Members > Access requests. Alternatively, check via API: GET /projects/:id/settings or inspect the project JSON response for access_request_enabled field.
    Affected if Project access requests feature is enabled for any project in the GitLab instance
  3. Check for pending access requests requiring approval
    In GitLab UI, go to Project > Settings > Members > Access requests section. Look for any users with 'Request to join' status pending approval. Or query via API: GET /projects/:id/access_requests
    Affected if There are pending access requests that require approval actions from maintainers or administrators
  4. Review approval workflow configuration
    Examine project settings at Project > Settings > Members > Access requests > Approval settings. Check if custom roles or permission modifications are allowed during the approval process.
    Affected if The approval workflow permits role/permission modifications during access request approval

You are affected if your GitLab version is one of the vulnerable versions listed AND you have project access requests enabled with pending approvals that can be processed.

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 17.11.5 / 18.0.3 or later
Fixed in 17.11.518.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 17.11.5, 18.0.3, 18.1.1 or later to patch the privilege escalation vulnerability in the access request approval workflow.

Recommended fix High confidence

GitLab 17.11.5 (or later 17.x LTS), 18.0.3, 18.1.1, or latest stable release

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab instance data and configuration before proceeding with any upgrade
  2. 2. Determine your current GitLab installation method (Omnibus, source, Docker, etc.)
  3. 3. Consult the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation method
  4. 4. Plan for appropriate downtime, as GitLab upgrades typically require service interruption
  5. 5. Upgrade to GitLab version 17.11.5 or later in the 17.x LTS track, OR version 18.0.3 or later, OR version 18.1.1 or later
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the access request/approval workflow functions correctly and that permission grants behave as expected
  7. 7. Review admin audit logs to confirm no unauthorized privilege escalations occurred prior to the patch
Caveat Review GitLab release notes for your target version for any breaking changes, particularly around project permissions and access request features

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2025-2938 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