CVE-2026-13151 in GitLab
Summary
by MITRE • 07/09/2026
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 16.10 before 18.11.7, 19.0 before 19.0.4, and 19.1 before 19.1.2 that under certain conditions could have allowed an authenticated user to modify group-level settings beyond their intended permissions due to improper authorization controls.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization bypass flaw in GitLab Enterprise Edition that allows authenticated users to escalate their privileges and modify group-level settings outside their designated permissions. The issue affects multiple version streams including 16.10 through 18.10, 19.0 through 19.0.3, and 19.1 through 19.1.1, indicating a widespread impact across the GitLab product line. The flaw stems from inadequate access control validation mechanisms that fail to properly enforce permission boundaries when users attempt to modify group configurations. This authorization weakness specifically targets the group-level administrative controls within GitLab's permission model, creating a scenario where users with insufficient privileges can manipulate settings that should be restricted to administrators or specific authorized roles.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems. The flaw operates by allowing authenticated users to bypass the standard access control checks that should validate whether a user has sufficient privileges to modify group-level configurations. This type of authorization bypass typically occurs when the application fails to perform proper permission validation before executing privileged operations. In GitLab's case, the system does not adequately verify user permissions during group setting modifications, potentially allowing users to access and alter administrative controls that should be restricted to authorized personnel only.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of GitLab's permission model and group management capabilities. An attacker exploiting this flaw could potentially modify critical group settings such as member access permissions, project configurations, or administrative controls within groups they do not legitimately own or manage. This unauthorized modification capability could lead to data exposure, privilege abuse, or disruption of legitimate group operations. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on GitLab for collaborative development environments where proper access control boundaries are essential for maintaining security posture and preventing unauthorized modifications to shared resources.
Organizations should immediately implement the patches provided by GitLab to address this authorization bypass vulnerability in versions 18.11.7, 19.0.4, and 19.1.2 respectively. The remediation involves updating to these patched versions where GitLab has implemented proper access control validation for group-level modifications. Additionally, security teams should conduct immediate reviews of user permissions within their GitLab instances to identify any potential unauthorized access that may have occurred before the patch was applied. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual group configuration changes that could indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing additional access controls and audit logging measures to provide better visibility into group-level modifications and help detect future unauthorized activities. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper authorization controls in collaborative development platforms where multiple users require different levels of access to shared resources, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and privilege escalation through improper access control mechanisms.