CVE-2019-6796 in Community
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in GitLab Community and Enterprise Edition before 11.5.8, 11.6.x before 11.6.6, and 11.7.x before 11.7.1. It allows XSS (issue 2 of 2).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-6796 represents a cross-site scripting flaw that affected GitLab Community and Enterprise Edition installations across multiple version ranges prior to specific patch releases. This security weakness resides within the web application's handling of user input and rendering processes, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary script code within the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability manifests as a reflected XSS issue that can be exploited through carefully crafted malicious input passed to the application's web interface.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within GitLab's web application framework. When users interact with the platform through web forms, URL parameters, or other input mechanisms, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages. This allows attackers to inject malicious javascript payloads that execute in the browsers of unsuspecting victims who view the affected content. The vulnerability specifically impacts how GitLab processes and displays user-provided information in various contexts including issue tracking, comments, and project descriptions, making it particularly dangerous within collaborative development environments where users frequently interact with each other's content.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-6796 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive project information, manipulate repository contents, or even escalate privileges within the GitLab instance. The reflected nature of the XSS means that the attack requires user interaction with a maliciously crafted link or page, but once executed, the payload can persistently affect users who encounter the infected content. This vulnerability particularly threatens organizations that rely heavily on GitLab for code collaboration and project management, as it undermines the trust model that should exist between users and the platform.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to the patched versions of GitLab: 11.5.8, 11.6.6, or 11.7.1 respectively, depending on their current installation version. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive security testing of the updated environment to ensure proper patch implementation and verification of the XSS protections. Additionally, implementing content security policies and regular security audits of web applications can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and follows ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter execution through web-based attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring systems to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The incident highlights the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and proper input validation in collaborative development platforms where user-generated content is prevalent and trusted.