CVE-2022-1352 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 05/11/2022
Due to an insecure direct object reference vulnerability in Gitlab EE/CE affecting all versions from 11.0 prior to 14.8.6, 14.9 prior to 14.9.4, and 14.10 prior to 14.10.1, an endpoint may reveal the issue title to a user who crafted an API call with the ID of the issue from a public project that restricts access to issue only to project members.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1352 represents a critical insecure direct object reference flaw within Gitlab Enterprise Edition and Community Edition platforms. This weakness stems from improper access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized users to bypass normal authorization checks when accessing specific issue data through API endpoints. The vulnerability affects multiple version ranges including all versions from 11.0 through 14.8.5, 14.9 through 14.9.3, and 14.10 through 14.10.0, creating a substantial attack surface across a significant portion of Gitlab's user base. The flaw specifically manifests when users attempt to access issue information through crafted API calls that reference issue IDs from public projects with restricted access policies.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the lack of proper authorization validation at the API endpoint level. When a user crafts an API request containing a specific issue ID from a project that normally restricts issue access to project members only, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has legitimate authorization to access that particular issue. This direct object reference vulnerability allows attackers to enumerate and potentially access sensitive information that should otherwise be restricted based on project membership status. The issue arises from the application's failure to maintain proper access control boundaries between different user roles and project permissions, creating a pathway for unauthorized data disclosure.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-1352 extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially compromise project integrity and confidentiality. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gather detailed information about project issues, including issue titles, which may contain sensitive project details, development timelines, or security-related information. This unauthorized access can enable more sophisticated attacks such as social engineering campaigns, targeted exploitation of project-specific vulnerabilities, or reconnaissance activities that could lead to further compromise of the development environment. The vulnerability particularly affects projects with restricted access policies where issue visibility should be limited to authorized members, undermining the fundamental security model of Gitlab's access control system.
Organizations utilizing Gitlab platforms should immediately implement mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability. The primary remediation involves upgrading to the patched versions of Gitlab EE/CE that address this insecure direct object reference issue. System administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring and access control measures to detect unauthorized API access patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which specifically addresses improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and information gathering, as attackers can leverage the flaw to expand their knowledge of target projects beyond what would normally be permitted. Security teams should conduct thorough audits of API access logs to identify potential exploitation attempts and implement rate limiting mechanisms to prevent automated enumeration attacks targeting this specific vulnerability.