CVE-2025-0475 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 03/03/2025
An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 15.10 prior to 17.7.6, 17.8 prior to 17.8.4, and 17.9 prior to 17.9.1. A proxy feature could potentially allow unintended content rendering leading to XSS under specific circumstances.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-0475 represents a significant security flaw within GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition platforms that affects multiple version ranges including all versions from 15.10 through 17.7.5, 17.8 through 17.8.3, and 17.9 through 17.9.0. This issue specifically targets the proxy functionality implemented within GitLab's infrastructure, creating potential pathways for malicious actors to execute cross-site scripting attacks. The flaw resides in how GitLab processes and renders content through its proxy mechanisms, particularly when handling user-provided data that gets processed through the system's content rendering pipeline.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within GitLab's proxy feature. When users interact with GitLab's proxy functionality, particularly in scenarios involving external content or resource loading, the system fails to properly sanitize or escape user-controllable data before rendering it within the browser context. This deficiency creates a condition where maliciously crafted input can be injected into the rendering pipeline, potentially executing arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of a victim's browser session. The vulnerability manifests when the proxy feature encounters specific content patterns or headers that trigger improper content handling, allowing attackers to manipulate the rendering behavior of web pages.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-0475 extends beyond simple code execution as it represents a critical vector for session hijacking, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within GitLab environments. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could potentially steal user session cookies, access sensitive project information, manipulate repository contents, or even escalate privileges to administrative levels depending on the victim's access rights. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that GitLab is widely used for source code management and collaboration, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise development environments and access valuable intellectual property. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple version ranges indicates a fundamental flaw in the proxy implementation that requires comprehensive remediation across affected deployments.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches available in GitLab versions 17.7.6, 17.8.4, and 17.9.1 respectively. Network administrators should consider implementing additional security controls such as content security policies and web application firewalls to provide defense-in-depth measures. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in software applications, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering and potentially T1059 for command and script injection, making it a critical concern for security operations teams managing GitLab deployments. Regular security assessments and input validation reviews should be conducted to prevent similar issues in other components of the GitLab platform.