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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-3601

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.1.5 / 18.2.5 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
An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 8.15 before 18.1.5, 18.2 before 18.2.5, and 18.3 before 18.3.1 that could have could have allowed an authenticated user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) condition by submitting URLs that generate excessively large responses.

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 authenticated user can submit specially crafted URLs that generate excessively large responses, causing a Denial of Service (DoS) condition in GitLab CE/EE. The vulnerability affects versions from 8.15 through 18.3.0 (before patched versions 18.1.5, 18.2.5, and 18.3.1).

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.1.5, 18.2.5, or 18.3.1 or later. As a temporary measure, implement rate limiting on URL request parameters and restrict user access to minimize the attack surface.

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:>= 8.15.0, < 18.1.5>= 18.2.0, < 18.2.5= 18.3.0

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. Determine installed GitLab version
    Run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the version file at `/opt/gitlab/version` (path may vary based on installation method)
    Affected if The reported version falls within the affected ranges: >= 8.15.0 and < 18.1.5; OR >= 18.2.0 and < 18.2.5; OR exactly 18.3.0
  2. Confirm GitLab web interface is accessible
    Verify the GitLab instance responds to HTTP/HTTPS requests and user authentication is enabled by attempting to access the login page
    Affected if The web interface is exposed and accepts authenticated user sessions (this is the default configuration)
  3. Check if instance has authenticated users
    Log into GitLab as an authenticated user or query the user database via `gitlab-rails console` to confirm at least one user account exists
    Affected if Any authenticated user account exists on the instance (the vulnerability requires an authenticated user to submit crafted URLs)

If the GitLab version is within the affected ranges and the instance has authenticated users who can access the web interface, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2025-3601.

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 18.1.5 / 18.2.5 or later
Fixed in 18.1.518.2.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.1.5, 18.2.5, or 18.3.1 or later. As a temporary measure, implement rate limiting on URL request parameters and restrict user access to minimize the attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.1.5, 18.2.5, or 18.3.1 (or latest 18.x stable)

  1. 1. Backup your GitLab instance data before performing any upgrade
  2. 2. Identify your current GitLab version by navigating to Admin Area > Settings > Metrics and Profiling > Version
  3. 3. If running >= 8.15.0 and < 18.1.5: upgrade to 18.1.5 or later (recommended: 18.1.5)
  4. 4. If running >= 18.2.0 and < 18.2.5: upgrade to 18.2.5 or later (recommended: 18.2.5)
  5. 5. If running 18.3.0: upgrade to 18.3.1 or later (recommended: 18.3.1 or latest 18.3.x)
  6. 6. For long-term stability, consider upgrading to the latest stable 18.x release (e.g., 18.3.1 or newer)
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify GitLab is operational and test that the DoS condition is no longer reproducible
  8. 8. Review release notes for any additional security patches in the target version
Caveat Upgrading across major GitLab versions may require database migrations; review the upgrade path documentation for your current version to ensure compatibility and plan adequate downtime

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-3601 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