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GitLab EUVDEUVD-2026-80121

| CVE-2026-3855 MEDIUM
Improper Control of Resource Identifiers ('Resource Injection') (CWE-99)
2026-09-16 GitLab GHSA-74fm-x674-6p6m
6.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate as project member with state access
  2. Delivery
    Craft Terraform state upload request
  3. Exploit
    Manipulate state identifier parameters
  4. Execution
    Bypass server-side resource validation
  5. Persist
    Resolve restricted file paths
  6. Impact
    Read server files or corrupt state

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Resource identifier sanitization
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires an authenticated GitLab account holding project-level permissions sufficient to write to the Terraform state backend (GitLab's Developer role and above can push state to a project's state endpoint; CVSS PR:L confirms authenticated, non-admin access). The target project must actually use the Terraform state upload feature - projects that never push Terraform state expose no reachable attack surface. The attacker must additionally craft parameters that resolve to restricted server-side files or a corruptible state resource, which is why AC:H is assigned: naive payloads will simply fail validation or create an error, not disclose data. What LIMITS exploitation: unauthenticated users cannot trigger it (a valid session and project membership are mandatory); the impact is bounded to low confidentiality (C:L) with no integrity or availability impact recorded in the CVSS vector despite the description's DoS claim; and no KEV listing indicates no observed mass exploitation.

Impact

Signals conflict and should be read carefully. CVSS 3.1 places this at 3.1 (LOW): network attack vector but high complexity (AC:H), privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction, and limited confidentiality impact only - the vector explicitly sets A:N even though the description mentions denial of service, so the DoS claim is not corroborated by the scoring body and should be treated as unverified. The high attack complexity reflects the difficulty of crafting parameters that successfully resolve to restricted server paths. A public proof of concept (HackerOne report 3575167) is confirmed by the input, which raises practical exploitability above what a 3.1 score implies, but this is not confirmed actively exploited - no CISA KEV entry. EPSS was not supplied, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified and the SSVC exploitation status is best classified as 'PoC exists, no observed exploitation'. Net assessment: low-priority patching for most organizations (no RCE, no privilege escalation, requires an authenticated project member), but higher priority for multi-tenant GitLab instances where untrusted or external contributors have Developer-level access to projects using Terraform state.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with a Developer-level account on a GitLab project that uses the Terraform state backend (or a compromised low-privileged account) sends a crafted state upload request in which the state identifier or associated parameters are manipulated rather than the expected value. The unvalidated parameter is resolved server-side against the file/resource layer, letting the attacker read files that should be restricted to the GitLab host, or produce malformed state that degrades the service. Public exploit detail is available through the referenced HackerOne report, lowering the skill barrier despite the high attack complexity rating.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 16, 2026

Improper validation of parameters in GitLab CE/EE's Terraform state upload functionality allows an authenticated user holding project-level permissions to read restricted file contents on the server or cause denial of service. Affected releases are all versions from 18.2.7 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2, with fixes published in the 19.3.2 patch release. Public exploit details exist via a HackerOne report, but the CVSS base score is only 3.1 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N); there is no CISA KEV listing and no EPSS data was provided.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to a fixed release: GitLab 19.1.8, 19.2.6, or 19.3.2 (the earliest fix on each affected branch). Vendor-released patch: 19.1.8, 19.2.6, 19.3.2; see https://docs.gitlab.com/releases/patches/patch-release-gitlab-19-3-2-released/ for the official advisory and https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/work_items/592821 for the tracking item. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting project-level membership that grants Terraform state write access to trusted users only (trade-off: slows onboarding of external contributors), auditing projects that use the Terraform state backend, and reviewing server file permissions so the GitLab process cannot read sensitive files outside its expected data directories (trade-off: operational hardening only, it does not remove the parsing flaw). Rotating any secrets stored on the GitLab host is advisable if exploitation is suspected, since the confidentiality impact is file disclosure. Because the flaw requires an authenticated project member, restricting who can push Terraform state is the most effective compensating control until patching completes.

Affected VersionsENISA

GitLab 19.2 <19.2.6
GitLab 18.2.7 <19.1.8
GitLab 19.3 <19.3.2

Affected Packages

euvd gitlab fix: 19.1.8, 19.2.6, 19.3.2

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

GitLab's Terraform integration implements a remote state backend: project members push terraform.tfstate blobs (with locking and serial parameters) to an HTTP API endpoint that GitLab's Rails application parses and persists. The flaw is classified as CWE-99, Improper Control of Resource Identifiers ('Resource Injection'), meaning a user-supplied parameter (e.g. state name/identifier passed into the state upload handler) is used to resolve server-side resources without adequate validation or normalization. Terraform state handling involves file and object resolution, so unvalidated identifiers can cause the backend to operate on paths or resources outside the intended state directory, yielding disclosure of otherwise restricted files on the GitLab host, or malformed state that destabilizes the service. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms all GitLab CE/EE distributions share the affected code path (GitLab ships CE and EE from the same codebase).

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (GitLab) PRIMARY LOW
NVD 6.8 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 4.2 MEDIUM

Authenticated project member required (PR:L) and precise parameter crafting needed (AC:H); low file-disclosure and possible availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (GitLab).

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Severity Changed
Sep 28, 2026 - 13:37 NVD
LOW MEDIUM
CVSS changed
Sep 28, 2026 - 13:37 NVD
3.1 (LOW) 6.8 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
Sep 16, 2026 - 07:01 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 16, 2026 - 06:34 cve.org
LOW 3.1

DescriptionNVD

GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.2.7 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2 that under certain conditions could have allowed an authenticated user with project-level permissions to access restricted file contents on the server or cause denial of service due to improper validation of parameters in the Terraform state upload functionality.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 76% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely deployed self-managed and SaaS DevOps platform, CE/EE both affected
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

54
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +34
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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