CVE-2024-4901 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 06/27/2024
An issue was discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 16.9 prior to 16.11.5, starting from 17.0 prior to 17.0.3, and starting from 17.1 prior to 17.1.1, where a stored XSS vulnerability could be imported from a project with malicious commit notes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/22/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-4901 represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition platforms. This security weakness affects multiple version ranges including releases from 16.9 through 16.11.4, 17.0 through 17.0.2, and 17.1 through 17.1.0, creating a substantial attack surface across the GitLab product line. The flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly validate and escape user-supplied content when processing commit notes within project repositories.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when malicious actors exploit the system's failure to adequately sanitize commit messages and notes that are imported from external sources. When legitimate users view project history or commit details, the maliciously crafted content embedded within commit notes executes in the context of other users' browsers. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload persists within the GitLab database and automatically executes whenever affected users access the compromised project information, creating a persistent threat vector that can affect multiple users over time.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-4901 extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with potential access to sensitive project information, user credentials, and system resources. Attackers can craft commit notes containing malicious javascript payloads that, when executed, could steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even execute additional attacks against the underlying GitLab infrastructure. The vulnerability particularly affects collaborative development environments where multiple team members regularly access project histories and commit information, amplifying the potential for widespread compromise.
This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious content. The stored nature of this XSS vulnerability places it within the category of persistent threats that can affect numerous users over extended periods, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where GitLab serves as a central development platform. Organizations utilizing GitLab in production environments should immediately implement mitigations including version upgrades to patched releases, enhanced input validation, and user education about the risks of importing content from untrusted sources.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2024-4901 requires immediate deployment of the patched versions 16.11.5, 17.0.3, and 17.1.1 respectively, along with comprehensive security auditing of existing commit histories to identify and remove potentially malicious content. Organizations should also implement additional security controls including web application firewalls, enhanced content security policies, and regular security scanning of imported project content to prevent future exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in collaborative development platforms and highlights the need for robust security measures in version control systems that serve as central repositories for sensitive code and development information.