CVE-2025-7449 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 11/26/2025
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 8.3 before 18.4.5, 18.5 before 18.5.3, and 18.6 before 18.6.1 that could have allowed an authenticated user with specific permissions to cause a denial of service condition through HTTP response processing.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-7449 represents a denial of service condition within GitLab CE/EE platforms that affects multiple version ranges including 8.3 through 18.4.4, 18.5 through 18.5.2, and 18.6 through 18.6.0. This issue specifically targets authenticated users who possess certain permissions, making it particularly concerning for organizations that maintain extensive user access controls. The flaw manifests during HTTP response processing operations, indicating that the vulnerability exploits weaknesses in how the system handles incoming response data from network requests.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of HTTP responses within GitLab's processing pipeline, which allows an attacker with sufficient privileges to craft malicious requests that trigger resource exhaustion or system instability. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-400 which categorizes weaknesses related to resource exhaustion and improper handling of input data. The attack vector requires an authenticated user with specific permissions, suggesting that the vulnerability is not exploitable by casual attackers but rather by individuals who already have access to the system. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the context of privilege escalation and lateral movement attacks, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1499 for network denial of service.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-7449 extends beyond simple service interruption as it can potentially disrupt critical development workflows and collaboration processes within organizations that rely heavily on GitLab for version control and continuous integration operations. When exploited, this vulnerability could cause cascading failures affecting multiple projects and teams simultaneously, particularly in environments where GitLab serves as the central hub for software development activities. The remediation process requires organizations to upgrade their GitLab installations to versions that contain the necessary patches, which may involve careful planning to avoid disrupting ongoing development cycles.
Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability as it represents a potential pathway for attackers to disrupt business operations and could serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated environment to ensure that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing workflows or integrations. Security teams should also monitor for any signs of exploitation attempts and consider implementing additional access controls to limit the scope of users who can trigger HTTP response processing operations. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software installations and demonstrates how seemingly minor processing flaws can have significant operational consequences in enterprise environments.