CVE-2022-1175 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 04/05/2022
Improper neutralization of user input in GitLab CE/EE versions 14.4 before 14.7.7, all versions starting from 14.8 before 14.8.5, all versions starting from 14.9 before 14.9.2 allowed an attacker to exploit XSS by injecting HTML in notes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/01/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness in GitLab's code repository management system affecting multiple version ranges including 14.4 through 14.7.6, 14.8 through 14.8.4, and 14.9 through 14.9.1. The flaw stems from inadequate sanitization of user input within the notes functionality, specifically when users create or modify notes associated with issues, merge requests, or other project elements. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as improper neutralization of input data, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1190 which describes the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities through malicious input injection.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious HTML content into notes fields that are subsequently rendered to other users without proper sanitization. When victims view these notes containing crafted HTML payloads, the malicious code executes within their browser context, potentially enabling session hijacking, data exfiltration, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability exists because GitLab's input validation mechanisms fail to adequately filter or escape user-provided content before rendering it in web interfaces, creating a persistent XSS vector that can be exploited across different user sessions.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft as it provides attackers with a persistent means of compromising user sessions and accessing sensitive project information. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of authenticated users, potentially gaining access to confidential project data, manipulating repository contents, or escalating privileges within the GitLab instance. The vulnerability affects all users who interact with notes functionality, making it particularly dangerous in collaborative environments where multiple team members contribute to project documentation and issue tracking.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected GitLab versions to the recommended secure releases, along with implementing additional defensive measures such as content security policies to limit script execution, input validation at multiple layers, and regular security audits of user input handling. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, while conducting regular security training for developers to prevent similar input sanitization failures in custom applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly those handling user-generated content in collaborative environments.