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GitLabApplication

CVE-2026-2238

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.11.6 / 19.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 8 weeks old

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 17.5 before 18.11.6, 19.0 before 19.0.3, and 19.1 before 19.1.1 that under certain conditions could have allowed an unauthenticated user to view confidential issue references on public projects due to improper authorization checks.

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 · moderate confidence

GitLab CE/EE contains an improper authorization vulnerability where unauthenticated users could potentially view confidential issue references on public projects under certain conditions. The issue stems from insufficient authorization checks in the issue reference handling logic.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.11.6, 19.0.3, or 19.1.1 or later to apply the vendor patch.

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:>= 17.5.0, < 18.11.6>= 19.0.0, < 19.0.3= 19.1.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Identify GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check `/opt/gitlab/VERSION` file to determine the installed GitLab version.
    Affected if Version is >= 17.5.0 and < 18.11.6, OR >= 19.0.0 and < 19.1.1 (including 19.1.0)
  2. Confirm public projects exist
    As an administrator, navigate to Admin Area > Projects or use the API endpoint `/api/v4/projects?membership=false&statistics=true&public=true` to list projects with public visibility.
    Affected if Any projects are set to Public visibility
  3. Identify confidential issues in public projects
    Use GitLab API `/api/v4/projects/:id/issues?confidential=true` on public projects, or check within each public project under Issues > Confidential issues to see if confidential issues exist.
    Affected if Public projects contain confidential issues with references to other issues or external trackers
  4. Verify issue reference handling
    Review the activity log or audit logs for unauthorized access to issue references in public projects. Check if unauthenticated requests to `/project/-/issues/<id>` expose confidential issue reference data.
    Affected if Unauthenticated users can access confidential issue references that should be restricted

The environment is affected if GitLab version falls within the vulnerable range AND public projects with confidential issues exist, allowing unauthenticated users to potentially view confidential issue references.

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 18.11.6 / 19.0.3 or later
Fixed in 18.11.619.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.11.6, 19.0.3, or 19.1.1 or later to apply the vendor patch.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.11.6 (for 17.x/18.x users), 19.0.3 (for 19.0.x users), or 19.1.1 (for 19.1.0 users)

  1. 1. Back up your current GitLab installation and database
  2. 2. Ensure you are currently running one of the affected versions: 17.5.0 through 18.11.5, 19.0.0 through 19.0.2, or 19.1.0
  3. 3. For GitLab Omnibus installations: run 'sudo gitlab-ctl stop' to stop services
  4. 4. Update GitLab to the appropriate fixed version based on your current major version
  5. 5. For GitLab Omnibus: run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gitlab-ce' (or 'gitlab-ee') to install the patched version
  6. 6. After upgrade, run 'sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure' to apply configuration
  7. 7. Run 'sudo gitlab-ctl start' to restart services
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the GitLab version in the UI or via 'sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info'
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 17.x to 18.x or 19.x) may include breaking changes; review GitLab release notes before upgrading

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2026-2238 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