CVE-2021-22186Network attack vector

CI/CD variable modification via missing owner check

Published Mar 24, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper authorization in affected GitLab releases allows remote authenticated group Maintainers to modify group CI/CD variables. The group-variable authorization path accepts the Maintainer role where an Owner-only check is required, permitting unauthorized changes to restricted variables. Network access and group Maintainer privileges are required; the resulting access is limited to group-scoped CI/CD variable modification.

CVSS severity4.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.86%
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 affected GitLab releases allows remote authenticated group Maintainers to modify group CI/CD variables. The group-variable authorization path accepts the Maintainer role where an Owner-only check is required, permitting unauthorized changes to restricted variables. Network access and group Maintainer privileges are required; the resulting access is limited to group-scoped CI/CD variable modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22186
Published
Mar 24, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-863, T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 24, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 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=>=13.8, <13.8.5
  2. Affected versionversion=>=13.9, <13.9.2
  3. Affected versionversion=>=9.4, <13.7.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=13.8, <13.8.5; version=>=13.9, <13.9.2; version=>=9.4, <13.7.8

Published CVSS scores

4.9GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
4.9NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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