CVE-2022-1111 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 04/05/2022
A business logic error in Project Import in GitLab CE/EE versions 14.9 prior to 14.9.2, 14.8 prior to 14.8.5, and 14.0 prior to 14.7.7 under certain conditions caused imported projects to show an incorrect user in the 'Access Granted' column in the project membership pages
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2022
This vulnerability represents a business logic error within GitLab's project import functionality that affects versions prior to specific patch releases. The issue manifests in the project membership pages where the 'Access Granted' column displays incorrect user information for imported projects. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper authorization or access control flaws that can undermine the integrity of user access management within the platform. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects core collaboration and access control mechanisms that are fundamental to project management in GitLab's enterprise and community editions.
The technical flaw stems from how GitLab handles user identification and access tracking during project import operations. When projects are imported into the system, the application fails to properly maintain or verify the correct user associations for access grants, resulting in misleading information displayed in the membership interface. This business logic error creates a discrepancy between the actual access permissions and what is visually presented to users, potentially leading to confusion about who has access to specific projects. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure, as it represents a failure in access control mechanisms that should properly maintain user authorization states.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple display errors, as it can create confusion among project administrators and team members regarding access permissions. Users may incorrectly assume that certain individuals have access to projects when they do not, or conversely, believe that access has been properly granted when it has not. This misrepresentation can lead to unauthorized access attempts, compliance issues, and operational inefficiencies in project management workflows. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on GitLab for collaborative development where proper access control is critical for maintaining security boundaries and data integrity. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be leveraged as part of a broader reconnaissance or privilege escalation strategy where attackers might exploit the misleading access information to identify potential attack vectors or validate their access to specific projects.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to the patched versions specified in the advisory to remediate this vulnerability. The patch releases mentioned in the CVE description (14.9.2, 14.8.5, and 14.7.7) address the business logic error by ensuring proper user identification and access tracking during project import operations. System administrators should conduct thorough audits of existing imported projects to verify the accuracy of access information and implement monitoring procedures to detect similar issues. Additionally, organizations should review their access control policies and procedures to ensure that the integrity of user permissions is maintained throughout all project lifecycle operations, including import, export, and collaboration activities. Regular security assessments of GitLab installations should include verification of access control mechanisms to prevent similar business logic vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the platform.