CVE-2023-5995 in Enterprise Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 12/01/2023
An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.4.3, all versions starting from 16.5 before 16.5.3, all versions starting from 16.6 before 16.6.1. It was possible for an attacker to abuse the policy bot to gain access to internal projects.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2023-5995 represents a critical access control flaw within GitLab Enterprise Edition that emerged in version 16.2 and persisted through specific release branches until remediation was implemented. This security issue specifically targets the policy bot functionality within GitLab's access control system, creating a pathway for unauthorized users to escalate their privileges and gain access to internal projects that should otherwise remain restricted. The flaw affects multiple version ranges including 16.2 through 16.4.2, 16.5 through 16.5.2, and 16.6 through 16.6.0, indicating a widespread impact across the GitLab enterprise product line during these periods. The vulnerability demonstrates a significant weakness in the authorization mechanisms that govern project access within GitLab's enterprise environment, potentially allowing malicious actors to bypass intended security boundaries.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper validation or enforcement within the policy bot component that manages automated access controls for projects. When an attacker exploits this weakness, they can manipulate the policy bot to grant themselves access to projects that are normally restricted to authorized personnel only. This typically involves bypassing the normal authentication and authorization checks that should prevent unauthorized access to internal repositories. The flaw likely exists in the way the policy bot processes access requests or evaluates user permissions, potentially allowing an attacker to craft specific requests that circumvent the normal access control flow. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-284 access control weakness category, specifically addressing improper access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized access to protected resources. The vulnerability creates a privilege escalation vector that enables attackers to move laterally within the GitLab environment and access sensitive internal project data that should remain protected.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-5995 extends beyond simple unauthorized access to potentially exposing sensitive source code, development artifacts, and confidential project information to malicious actors. Organizations using affected GitLab versions face risks of intellectual property theft, code exposure, and potential supply chain compromises if the accessed projects contain dependencies or components that are used in production systems. The vulnerability could enable attackers to gain access to sensitive development environments, configuration files, and potentially even access to production systems if the projects contain deployment scripts or integration points. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege that should govern access to internal projects within enterprise environments, creating opportunities for attackers to escalate their activities within the development infrastructure. The impact is particularly severe in environments where GitLab serves as the central repository for all development activities and where internal projects contain sensitive business logic, customer data, or proprietary software components.
Organizations affected by CVE-2023-5995 should immediately implement mitigation strategies including upgrading to the patched versions 16.4.3, 16.5.3, and 16.6.1 respectively, which contain the necessary security fixes to address the policy bot access control flaw. Additionally, administrators should conduct comprehensive audits of existing project access controls and monitor for any suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include reviewing all policy bot configurations and ensuring that access controls are properly enforced for internal projects. Security teams should also implement enhanced monitoring for unauthorized access attempts and consider implementing additional access control layers beyond the default GitLab policies. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and potentially initial access through the exploitation of insecure configuration or access control mechanisms. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure they can quickly identify and respond to potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability could enable attackers to establish persistent access to sensitive development environments. The fix addresses the underlying access control weakness by properly validating policy bot requests and ensuring that access decisions are made according to the established authorization policies.