CVE-2026-6567 in GitLab
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2026
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 13.8 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 reporter role to access restricted CI artifact report content they were not authorized to, due to missing 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 version ranges, specifically versions prior to 19.2.8 for the 13.8 through 19.2 series, versions before 19.3.5 for the 19.3 line, and versions preceding 19.4.2 in the 19.4 release track. This flaw represents a significant breakdown in access control mechanisms within the Continuous Integration artifact reporting subsystem. The vulnerability allows an authenticated user holding at least the reporter role to bypass intended restrictions and view CI artifact reports that should be inaccessible based on their project permissions or pipeline visibility settings. By exploiting this missing authorization check, attackers can retrieve sensitive build logs, test outputs, and other diagnostic data generated during automated software delivery pipelines, potentially exposing proprietary source code snippets, internal infrastructure details, or credentials inadvertently logged by developers.
The technical root cause of this issue lies in the application logic governing CI artifact reports, where the system fails to validate whether the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges for the specific project or pipeline context before serving the report content. In a properly secured environment, access to such data should be strictly gated behind role-based access control checks that verify both authentication and authorization at every request boundary. However, in this instance, the endpoint responsible for rendering these reports does not adequately enforce the principle of least privilege, allowing users with lower-level reporter permissions to traverse into restricted areas of the CI/CD pipeline output. This type of flaw is characteristic of Insecure Direct Object References or Broken Access Control vulnerabilities, where the application relies on client-side controls or fails to perform server-side validation of user entitlements against resource ownership and role requirements.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk to organizations relying on GitLab for secure software development lifecycles. CI artifact reports often contain detailed information about build environments, dependency versions, test results, and sometimes sensitive configuration data. Unauthorized access to these artifacts can facilitate further reconnaissance by malicious insiders or external attackers who have compromised low-privilege accounts. The exposure of such internal operational details aids in mapping the attack surface, identifying outdated dependencies for exploitation, and understanding deployment architectures. Furthermore, if any secrets were accidentally printed during pipeline execution, their disclosure could lead to credential compromise and subsequent lateral movement within corporate networks. This aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to Collection via Command and Scripting Interpreter or Data from Information Repositories, as the attacker leverages legitimate access to exfiltrate valuable intelligence without triggering typical intrusion detection alerts associated with brute force or privilege escalation attempts.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately upgrade their GitLab instances to patched versions corresponding to their current release channel: 19.2.8 for older stable releases, 19.3.5 for the 19.3 branch, and 19.4.2 or later for newer deployments. Until upgrades are implemented, administrators should review project access policies and consider restricting CI/CD artifact visibility to maintainers only where possible, although this is a temporary workaround rather than a definitive fix. It is also advisable to audit recent pipeline logs for any signs of unauthorized access attempts if the vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild. Long-term remediation strategies should include implementing robust role-based access control reviews and ensuring that all CI/CD components adhere strictly to security best practices defined by industry standards such as CWE-269, which addresses Improper Privilege Management, thereby preventing similar authorization bypasses in future development cycles.