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GitLabApplication

CVE-2026-1102

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.6.4 / 18.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 CE/EE affecting all versions from 12.3 before 18.6.4, 18.7 before 18.7.2, and 18.8 before 18.8.2 that could have allowed an unauthenticated user to create a denial of service condition by sending repeated malformed SSH authentication requests.

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 unauthenticated attacker can cause denial of service by sending repeated malformed SSH authentication requests to GitLab CE/EE. This exploits a vulnerability in GitLab's SSH authentication handling mechanism, allowing resource exhaustion without authentication.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.6.4, 18.7.2, 18.8.2 or later to remediate the vulnerability. Alternatively, consider rate-limiting or restricting SSH access at the network perimeter until the upgrade can be performed.

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:>= 12.3.0, < 18.6.4>= 18.7.0, < 18.7.2>= 18.8.0, < 18.8.2

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 command: gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info or check /opt/gitlab/version-manifest.txt, or use `gitlab-ctl version`
    Affected if Installed version is >= 12.3.0 AND < 18.6.4, OR >= 18.7.0 AND < 18.7.2, OR >= 18.8.0 AND < 18.8.2
  2. Verify SSH access is enabled
    Check if GitLab SSH is configured: look for gitlab-shell in gitlab.yml or run `gitlab-ctl status` to see sshd/gitlab-shell services running
    Affected if SSH authentication is enabled and exposed via gitlab-shell or sshd services
  3. Confirm SSH port is network-accessible
    Check firewall rules (iptables -L, ufw status, or cloud security groups) and verify port 22 is open to untrusted networks or the internet
    Affected if Port 22/SSH is reachable from untrusted network segments or the internet without network-level restrictions
  4. Review SSH authentication logs for anomalies
    Check /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-shell/gitlab-shell.log and /var/log/gitlab/auth.log for repeated failed auth requests or malformed request patterns
    Affected if Logs show high volume of malformed SSH auth requests or authentication failures from unauthenticated sources

You are affected if GitLab is exposed to unauthenticated SSH connections and the installed version falls within the affected ranges, allowing resource exhaustion via malformed requests.

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 18.6.4 / 18.7.2 / 18.8.2 or later
Fixed in 18.6.418.7.218.8.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.6.4, 18.7.2, 18.8.2 or later to remediate the vulnerability. Alternatively, consider rate-limiting or restricting SSH access at the network perimeter until the upgrade can be performed.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.8.2 or later (minimum fixed versions: 18.6.4, 18.7.2, or 18.8.2)

  1. Verify current GitLab version using `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info`
  2. Review GitLab upgrade documentation for your deployment type ( omnibus or source)
  3. Create a full backup of your GitLab instance before upgrading
  4. For GitLab Omnibus: Update package repository and upgrade using `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce` or `sudo yum install gitlab-ce`
  5. For GitLab from source: Follow the upgrade guide to compile and install the new version
  6. After upgrade, run `sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure`
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful and GitLab is operational
  8. Monitor system logs for any unusual activity
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for database migrations and breaking changes between your current and target version

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

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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-2026-1102 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