CVE-2025-7739 in Community Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2025
An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.2 before 18.2.2 that, under certain conditions, could have allowed authenticated users to achieve stored cross-site scripting by injecting malicious HTML content in scoped label descriptions.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-7739 represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within GitLab Community and Enterprise editions. This security issue affects all versions from 18.2 through the initial releases prior to 18.2.2, creating a window of exposure for authenticated users who possess sufficient privileges to manipulate label descriptions within project scopes. The flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly validate and escape HTML content submitted in label description fields, allowing malicious actors to inject persistent script code that executes whenever the affected labels are rendered in user interfaces.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities arising from insufficient input validation and output encoding. The flaw operates as a stored XSS attack vector because the malicious HTML content is permanently saved within the GitLab database and subsequently served to other users without proper sanitization. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when applications fail to properly escape user-supplied data before rendering it in web pages, particularly in contexts where HTML content is expected but not adequately filtered. The scope of this vulnerability is particularly concerning within GitLab's label management system where descriptions are often displayed in project interfaces, issue trackers, and various administrative panels.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The attack requires minimal privileges since it only necessitates access to label management features, which are commonly available to project members and administrators. Attackers could craft malicious label descriptions containing scripts that steal cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that once a malicious label is created, it remains persistent and affects all users who view the affected project interfaces, making it particularly dangerous for collaborative development environments where multiple users interact with shared project metadata.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2025-7739 involves immediate deployment of GitLab version 18.2.2 or later, which includes proper input validation and HTML sanitization measures for label descriptions. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures such as regular security scanning of label content, monitoring for unusual label creation patterns, and implementing content security policies that limit script execution within GitLab interfaces. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and highlights the necessity of robust input validation across all user-editable fields within web applications. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of label management systems and review related configuration settings to ensure that all user-generated content undergoes proper sanitization before being stored and displayed, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566 which encompasses various methods of injecting malicious content into applications through user interaction points.