CVE-2020-13261 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE
Amazon EKS credentials disclosure in GitLab CE/EE 12.6 and later through 13.0.1 allows other administrators to view Amazon EKS credentials via HTML source code
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2020
This vulnerability exists in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition versions 12.6 through 13.0.1 where Amazon EKS credentials are improperly exposed in HTML source code. The flaw represents a critical information disclosure issue that violates fundamental security principles of credential handling and access control. When administrators configure Amazon EKS integration within GitLab, the system stores credentials in a manner that makes them accessible through direct HTML source inspection, creating a severe exposure vector for unauthorized parties.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper sanitization and rendering of credential data within the web interface. When GitLab displays EKS configuration details in its administrative panels, the system fails to adequately obscure or encode sensitive credential information before presenting it in HTML markup. This behavior directly contravenes established security practices for handling sensitive data and violates the principle of least privilege. The vulnerability is categorized as a CWE-200 Information Exposure, specifically involving the improper handling of sensitive information in web interfaces. Attackers can exploit this by simply viewing the HTML source code of administrative pages, thereby extracting credentials without requiring authentication or advanced exploitation techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to cloud resources managed by the compromised GitLab instance. Administrators who configure EKS integration for continuous integration and deployment workflows are particularly at risk since these credentials often possess elevated privileges within cloud environments. The exposure creates a persistent threat vector that remains active as long as the vulnerable GitLab version is in use, potentially allowing attackers to perform unauthorized operations in connected cloud accounts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 Credential Access: Credentials in Files, demonstrating how insecure storage and display of credentials can lead to unauthorized access. Organizations may experience significant operational disruption and potential regulatory compliance violations when such credential exposure occurs.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate version upgrades to GitLab 13.0.2 or later, which contain patches addressing this credential exposure issue. System administrators must also implement comprehensive monitoring of administrative interface access patterns and credential usage. Additional protective measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to administrative interfaces, deploying web application firewalls to detect and block HTML source code inspection attempts, and establishing regular security audits of credential handling within the GitLab environment. Organizations should also consider implementing credential rotation policies and multi-factor authentication for administrative access to minimize the impact of potential credential exposure. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding in web applications, particularly when handling sensitive data that may be displayed in browser interfaces.