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GitLabApplication

CVE-2026-5309

MEDIUM · 5.4 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 →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 EE affecting all versions from 18.6 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 authenticated user to read or modify another group's virtual registry cleanup policy settings without authorization.

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 an authorization bypass vulnerability in GitLab EE where an authenticated user could read or modify another group's virtual registry cleanup policy settings without proper authorization. The issue stems from insufficient access control checks when accessing cross-group resources, allowing privilege escalation between authenticated users in different groups.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab EE to version 18.11.6, 19.0.3, or 19.1.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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:>= 18.6.0, < 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 GitLab EE version
    Navigate to Admin Area > Settings > Overview > Version, or visit /help page, or run `gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` to see the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 18.6.0 through 18.11.5, OR 19.0.0 through 19.0.2, OR exactly 19.1.0
  2. Identify if virtual registry cleanup policies are configured
    Check if any groups have virtual registry cleanup policies enabled under Settings > Repository > Cleanup policies for container registry images, or query the database table `virtual_registry_cleanup_policies` if database access is available
    Affected if Virtual registry cleanup policies exist and are configured for groups or projects
  3. Verify cross-group policy access patterns
    Review audit logs for API calls to `/groups/:id/registry/cleanup` endpoints from users belonging to different groups, or check if the GitLab instance has multiple groups with interdependent registry cleanup policies
    Affected if Multiple groups exist with virtual registry cleanup policies and users have access to different groups
  4. Confirm authenticated user access to cross-group resources
    Test API or web interface access by having a user in one group attempt to read or modify registry cleanup policy settings of another group they do not own
    Affected if User from one group can successfully access cleanup policy settings of a different group without being granted explicit permission

You are affected if your GitLab EE version falls within 18.6.0 to 18.11.5, 19.0.0 to 19.0.2, or 19.1.0 AND you have virtual registry cleanup policies configured across different groups.

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 EE to version 18.11.6, 19.0.3, or 19.1.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to GitLab 18.11.6, 19.0.3, or 19.1.1 (or later stable release)

  1. Identify your current GitLab version by navigating to the GitLab administration area or checking the /help page
  2. Plan your upgrade path based on your current version - if on 18.6.x through 18.11.x, upgrade to 18.11.6; if on 19.0.x, upgrade to 19.0.3; if on 19.1.0, upgrade to 19.1.1
  3. Review GitLab's upgrade documentation for your deployment method (Omnibus, source, or Helm chart)
  4. Back up your GitLab database and repositories before proceeding
  5. Perform the upgrade to the appropriate fixed version
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful and test that the virtual registry cleanup policy functionality works correctly
Caveat Standard GitLab upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any required migrations or configuration 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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-5309 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