CVE-2019-5472Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Persistent epic comment spam via missing admin-note permission

Published Jan 28, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper authorization in GitLab before 11.11.6, 12.0.4, or 12.1.2 allows remote attackers to create undeletable epic comments. The epic note policy omits admin-note permission for group owners and maintainers, so comments created by other users expose no edit or delete action. A public group with the Epic feature enabled is required; attackers can persistently spam its comment stream, with no reported data disclosure or broader service interruption.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.93%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authorization in GitLab before 11.11.6, 12.0.4, or 12.1.2 allows remote attackers to create undeletable epic comments. The epic note policy omits admin-note permission for group owners and maintainers, so comments created by other users expose no edit or delete action. A public group with the Epic feature enabled is required; attackers can persistently spam its comment stream, with no reported data disclosure or broader service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-5472
Published
Jan 28, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-400, CWE-269, T1491.002
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 28, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=before 11.11.6
  2. Affected versionversion=before 12.0.4
  3. Affected versionversion=before 12.1.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=before 11.11.6; version=before 12.0.4; version=before 12.1.2

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1491.002External Defacement

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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