CVE-2019-20144 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) 10.8 through 12.6.1. It has Incorrect Access Control.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/14/2020
This vulnerability exists within GitLab's access control mechanisms affecting versions 10.8 through 12.6.1 of both Community and Enterprise editions. The flaw allows unauthorized users to access protected resources and functionality that should be restricted to authorized personnel only. This represents a critical breakdown in the software's security architecture where the system fails to properly verify user permissions before granting access to sensitive operations. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user roles and access levels during various administrative and collaborative processes within the GitLab platform.
The technical implementation of this access control flaw manifests when legitimate users attempt to perform actions that require specific permission levels or roles. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting requests that bypass the normal authentication and authorization checks that should occur before granting access to restricted features. This typically involves manipulating API calls or web interface interactions to access resources that are normally protected. The vulnerability creates a path for privilege escalation where lower-privileged users can potentially access higher-level administrative functions or sensitive project data. According to CWE classification, this corresponds to CWE-285: Improper Authorization, which specifically addresses situations where the system fails to properly enforce access control policies.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to include potential data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized modifications to source code repositories. Organizations using affected GitLab versions face significant risk as attackers could gain access to confidential project information, manipulate code repositories, or perform administrative actions that could disrupt operations. The vulnerability affects collaborative development environments where multiple users with varying permission levels interact with shared repositories, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise settings where code security and access control are paramount. This weakness could enable attackers to access sensitive intellectual property, compromise development workflows, or establish persistent access points within the organization's development infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected GitLab installations to versions that contain the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement comprehensive access control reviews to identify any potential exploitation that may have occurred before patching. Network segmentation and monitoring of GitLab API calls can help detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough permission audits to ensure that user roles and access levels are properly configured according to the principle of least privilege. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques where attackers leverage access control weaknesses to gain elevated system access. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar access control flaws in other enterprise applications and systems.