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CVE-2025-5121: Critical Security Vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE

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Overview

In this post, we are going to examine CVE-2025-5121, a critical security issue recently discovered in GitLab CE/EE. This vulnerability affects all versions of GitLab CE/EE from 17.11 before 17.11.4 and 18.0 before 18.0.2. The issue lies in a missing authorization check that could potentially allow compliance frameworks to be applied to projects outside their designated groups. This vulnerability is of high significance as it opens up potential system compromises and data leakages.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-5121
Severity: Critical (8.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

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Product | Affected Versions

GitLab CE | 17.11 to 17.11.3
GitLab EE | 18.0 to 18.0.1

How the Exploit Works

This exploit works by taking advantage of a missing authorization check in the compliance framework of GitLab CE/EE. As a result, unauthorized users can apply compliance frameworks to projects outside of the framework’s group. This could allow an attacker to manipulate project settings, potentially compromising the system, or leading to data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

The following is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability. It involves sending a malicious HTTP POST request to the GitLab server.

POST /projects/:id/compliance_frameworks HTTP/1.1
Host: gitlab.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"compliance_framework": {
"name": "ISO 27001",
"color": "#F00",
"description": "This is a malicious compliance framework",
"group_id": "target_group_id"
}
}

In this example, the attacker is able to set a compliance framework on a project they shouldn’t have access to by specifying the target group id in the POST data.

Mitigation Guidance

Users are advised to apply the vendor-supplied patches immediately. GitLab has released versions 17.11.4 and 18.0.2 that address this vulnerability. In the interim, the use of Web Application Firewalls (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. Remain vigilant, it is crucial to keep your systems updated to prevent potential exploits.

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Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

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