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GitLabApplication

CVE-2026-8589

HIGH · 8.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.10.8 / 18.11.5 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 13.1.4 before 18.10.8, 18.11 before 18.11.5, and 19.0 before 19.0.2 that under certain conditions could have allowed an authenticated user to add unauthorized email addresses to a targeted user's account due to improper sanitization of user-supplied input in certain group setting fields.

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

This is an improper input sanitization vulnerability in GitLab EE where an authenticated user can add unauthorized email addresses to a targeted user's account through certain group setting fields. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in group settings, allowing privilege escalation and unauthorized account modification.

MitigationUpgrade GitLab to version 18.10.8 or higher, 18.11.5 or higher, or 19.0.2 or higher. Alternatively, if immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict group setting modifications to trusted administrators only.

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:>= 13.1.4, < 18.10.8>= 18.11.0, < 18.11.5>= 19.0.0, < 19.0.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/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 installed GitLab version
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:version` or check the /opt/gitlab/version file to determine the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 13.1.4 and < 18.10.8, OR >= 18.11.0 and < 18.11.5, OR >= 19.0.0 and < 19.0.2
  2. Confirm GitLab edition is Enterprise Edition
    Run `sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info` or check the /opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/REVISION file for EE indicators
    Affected if The installation is GitLab EE (the vulnerability affects EE only, not CE)
  3. Review group membership and settings access logs
    Check GitLab audit logs under Admin Area > Audit Events for entries involving group settings modifications, particularly look for events adding email addresses to user accounts
    Affected if Unusual group setting modification events exist that added email addresses to users who were not the acting authenticated user
  4. Inspect user account email lists for unauthorized entries
    Export user list via API (`GET /users` with `sudo` token) or Admin Area and compare expected email addresses against actual entries, looking for unexpected or injected addresses
    Affected if Any user account contains email addresses that were not intentionally added by that user or an administrator

You are affected if running a GitLab EE version within the specified vulnerable ranges AND you have group settings accessible to authenticated users, with any suspicious email injections found in audit logs or user accounts.

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 18.10.8 / 18.11.5 / 19.0.2 or later
Fixed in 18.10.818.11.519.0.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitLab to version 18.10.8 or higher, 18.11.5 or higher, or 19.0.2 or higher. Alternatively, if immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict group setting modifications to trusted administrators only.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.10.8, 18.11.5, or 19.0.2 (depending on your starting version branch)

  1. Identify your current GitLab installation version using the GitLab Rails console or admin interface
  2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version (13.1.4 to 17.x should upgrade to 18.10.8 first; 18.11.x should upgrade to 18.11.5; 19.0.x should upgrade to 19.0.2)
  3. Backup your GitLab database and repositories before upgrading
  4. Follow the official GitLab upgrade documentation for your installation type (Omnibus or source)
  5. Run 'gitlab-rake gitlab:check' after upgrade to verify integrity
  6. Ensure GitLab is running the target patched version post-upgrade
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 17.x to 18.x) may require migration steps; review GitLab upgrade guides for compatibility notes

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

Fix this in GitLab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2026-8589 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