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GitLabApplication

CVE-2025-6186

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.1.4 / 18.2.2 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 18.1 before 18.1.4, and 18.2 before 18.2.2 that could have allowed authenticated users to achieve account takeover by injecting malicious HTML into work item names.

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

This is a stored XSS vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE where authenticated users can inject malicious HTML into work item names. The injected HTML can execute in the browsers of other users viewing these work items, potentially leading to session hijacking and account takeover.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.1.4, 18.2.2, or later to patch the XSS vulnerability in work item name handling.

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:>= 18.1.0, < 18.1.4>= 18.2.0, < 18.2.2

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Check installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or access Admin Area > Dashboard to view the GitLab version number
    Affected if The version is 18.1.0 through 18.1.3, or 18.2.0 through 18.2.1
  2. Verify work items feature is accessible
    Confirm authenticated users can access work items (Issues, Tasks, etc.) in any project
    Affected if Work items are accessible to authenticated users in the environment
  3. Inspect work item names for injected scripts
    Query the database table `work_items` for HTML/script content in the `title` column, or review work items via the UI for unexpected HTML tags
    Affected if Any work item name contains unescaped HTML tags such as <script>, <img onerror>, or javascript: URIs
  4. Check recent work item creation activity
    Review audit logs or work item history for sudden appearance of work items with unusual characters or tags in names
    Affected if Recent work items contain HTML markup that renders as executable content in browsers

A user is affected if their GitLab version falls within 18.1.0-18.1.3 or 18.2.0-18.2.1 AND any work item in the system contains unsanitized HTML that could execute in a viewer's browser

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 18.1.4 / 18.2.2 or later
Fixed in 18.1.418.2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.1.4, 18.2.2, or later to patch the XSS vulnerability in work item name handling.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 18.1.4 or 18.2.2 (or later)

  1. 1. Back up your GitLab database and repositories before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. 2. Ensure you have adequate downtime window as GitLab upgrades may require service interruption
  3. 3. For GitLab installations using omnibus packages: Run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce' (or gitlab-ee for Enterprise Edition) to upgrade to the latest available version in your target minor release
  4. 4. Alternatively, for source installations: Navigate to your GitLab installation directory and follow the standard upgrade procedure documented at https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/update/
  5. 5. After upgrade completes, verify GitLab is functioning correctly by accessing the web interface
  6. 6. Confirm the version by checking Help > Version in the GitLab UI or running 'sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info'
  7. 7. Verify the XSS vulnerability is resolved by ensuring work item names properly sanitize HTML input
Caveat Review GitLab 18.1 and 18.2 release notes for any breaking changes relevant to your installation 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
  • 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-2025-6186 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