CVE-2026-14552 in GitLab
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2026
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 17.0 before 19.2.8, 19.3 before 19.3.5, and 19.4 before 19.4.2 that, under certain conditions, could have allowed an authenticated user with Guest access to read confidential epic content meant to be restricted by external authorization, due to incorrect authorization checks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2026
GitLab has addressed a critical security vulnerability affecting its Community Edition and Enterprise Edition across multiple release branches, specifically versions 17.0 prior to 19.2.8, version 19.3 prior to 19.3.5, and version 19.4 prior to 19.4.2. This flaw represents a significant breach in access control mechanisms within the platform's epic management subsystem. Epics are high-level planning units used for organizing large-scale initiatives, often containing sensitive strategic information that requires strict confidentiality controls. The vulnerability specifically impacts authenticated users who possess only Guest level permissions on a project or group. Under normal operational parameters, Guests should have limited visibility and interaction capabilities, restricted primarily to viewing public issues or participating in discussions where explicitly permitted. However, the identified flaw allows these low-privilege users to bypass intended restrictions and access confidential epic content that was deliberately configured to be hidden from them based on external authorization rules.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in an incorrect implementation of authorization checks within the backend logic responsible for serving epic data. When a user requests details about an epic, the system is supposed to evaluate multiple layers of permission settings, including project-level visibility and specific access controls tied to external identity providers or group hierarchies. In the affected versions, the validation process failed to properly cross-reference these external authorization constraints before rendering the content. This oversight means that while higher-privilege users are correctly filtered out from sensitive data based on their role, Guest accounts were inadvertently granted read access due to a logic error in the permission evaluation sequence. The flaw does not require complex exploitation techniques or privilege escalation; it relies simply on the authenticated user navigating to the affected epic endpoint with valid credentials that classify them as Guests.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to organizations relying on GitLab for strategic planning and project management. Confidential epics often contain details about upcoming product features, internal restructuring plans, security roadmaps, or proprietary business strategies. Unauthorized access by Guest users, who may include external contractors, vendors, or open-source contributors with minimal trust levels, can lead to significant information leakage. This exposure violates the principle of least privilege and compromises data integrity for sensitive projects. The impact is particularly acute in environments where GitLab is used as a central hub for cross-functional teams involving both internal employees and external partners, as it undermines the security boundaries established by administrators through group-level settings or LDAP/SSO integrations.
This incident aligns with CWE-269, which classifies Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities occurring when an actor possesses insufficient privileges for a critical system function that could impact the availability, integrity, confidentiality, and authorization of data. Furthermore, in the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability facilitates unauthorized access to restricted resources, mapping closely to techniques associated with Tactic TA0001 (Initial Access) or more specifically lateral movement if an attacker uses compromised guest credentials to gather intelligence for further exploitation. It also relates to CWE-862, Missing Authorization, where the software does not perform the correct authorization check when a user attempts to access data they should not be able to view.
To mitigate this risk and ensure continued security of GitLab instances, administrators must upgrade their environments immediately to patched versions that include the corrected authorization logic. Specifically, users running version 17.x should update to at least 19.2.8, those on the 19.3 branch should move to 19.3.5 or later, and those on the 19.4 branch must upgrade to 19.4.2 or newer. For organizations unable to patch immediately due to operational constraints, it is advisable to review guest access policies strictly, ensuring that no sensitive epics are created within projects where Guest permissions are broadly granted until the update can be applied. Regular auditing of user roles and permission settings across groups and projects serves as a complementary defense strategy to minimize the attack surface associated with such authorization flaws.