{"id":85933,"date":"2025-12-01T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:40:53","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"cve-2023-4812-bypassing-codeowners-approval-in-gitlab-ee-potential-system-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-4812-bypassing-codeowners-approval-in-gitlab-ee-potential-system-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2023-4812: Bypassing Codeowners Approval in GitLab EE, Potential System Compromise<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE-2023-4812 is a recently discovered security vulnerability that affects multiple versions of GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE). This vulnerability could allow an attacker to bypass the required CODEOWNERS approval process by adding changes to a previously approved merge request. As a result, unauthorized changes may be made, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. This report aims to provide a detailed analysis of this vulnerability and offer mitigation guidance.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2023-4812
\nSeverity: High (CVSS: 7.6)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: Low
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: System compromise, potential data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

GitLab EE | 15.3 – 16.5.5
\nGitLab EE | 16.6 – 16.6.3
\nGitLab EE | 16.7 – 16.7.1<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability is exploited when an attacker adds changes to an already approved merge request. As the request is already approved, it bypasses the necessary CODEOWNERS approval. This allows the attacker to implement potentially malicious changes without detection, leading to unauthorized access, system compromise, or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:<\/p>\n

git checkout -b new-branch\ngit add malicious_change\ngit commit -m \"Add changes to approved merge request\"\ngit push origin new-branch<\/code><\/pre>\n
In this example, “malicious_change” could be any change that would negatively impact the system or lead to data leakage. The attacker then pushes the change to the server under a new branch, potentially bypassing the CODEOWNERS approval process.<\/p>\n
Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n
The vendor has released a patch to mitigate this vulnerability. Updating GitLab EE to the latest version (16.7.2 or later) is strongly recommended. If patching is not immediately possible, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation by monitoring and potentially blocking malicious activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview CVE-2023-4812 is a recently discovered security vulnerability that affects multiple versions of GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE). This vulnerability could allow an attacker to bypass the required CODEOWNERS approval process by adding changes to a previously approved merge request. As a result, unauthorized changes may be made, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-85933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t