CVE-2022-2499 in Enterprise Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 08/05/2022
An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 13.10 before 15.0.5, all versions starting from 15.1 before 15.1.4, all versions starting from 15.2 before 15.2.1. GitLab's Jira integration has an insecure direct object reference vulnerability that may be exploited by an attacker to leak Jira issues.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/30/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2022-2499 represents a critical insecure direct object reference flaw within GitLab Enterprise Edition's Jira integration functionality. This security weakness affects multiple version ranges including 13.10 through 15.0.4, 15.1 through 15.1.3, and 15.2 through 15.2.0, creating a significant exposure window for organizations utilizing GitLab's integration capabilities with Jira issue tracking systems. The vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized users to directly reference Jira objects through predictable URL patterns or API endpoints without proper authentication or authorization checks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests when GitLab's Jira integration component fails to validate user permissions before exposing Jira issue data to external requests. An attacker can exploit this by constructing specific API calls or URL parameters that directly reference Jira issue identifiers, bypassing the normal access control mechanisms that should restrict data exposure to authorized personnel only. This type of vulnerability directly maps to CWE-284 which defines insecure direct object references as a condition where an application provides direct access to objects based on user-supplied input without proper authorization checks. The flaw essentially allows attackers to enumerate and access Jira issues that they should not have permission to view, potentially exposing sensitive project information, bug reports, or development data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can enable attackers to gather intelligence about project timelines, bug severity classifications, and development activities within organizations using GitLab and Jira integrations. This reconnaissance capability can serve as a foundation for more sophisticated attacks, including targeted social engineering campaigns or exploitation of related vulnerabilities in the broader development ecosystem. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on Jira for project management and issue tracking, as it can expose sensitive development information to unauthorized parties who may not have legitimate access to the underlying Jira instances. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform automated enumeration of Jira issues, potentially discovering critical project information, security vulnerabilities within the development pipeline, or sensitive data that should remain restricted to authorized personnel only.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched versions 15.0.5, 15.1.4, and 15.2.1 respectively, while also reviewing their access control policies for Jira integrations. Network-level protections such as API rate limiting and monitoring for unusual access patterns can help detect exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1528 which focuses on credentials in files and T1083 which covers file and directory discovery, as attackers can use this vulnerability to discover and extract sensitive project information from integrated systems. Security teams should also consider implementing additional logging and monitoring around Jira integration endpoints to detect unauthorized access attempts and establish proper incident response procedures for potential exploitation of this insecure direct object reference vulnerability.