CVE-2021-22189Network attack vector

Authentication issues via improper certificate validation

Published Mar 4, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper certificate validation in GitLab allows remote authenticated users to cause unspecified Fortinet OTP authentication issues. GitLab has not publicly disclosed the affected code locus or how certificate validation mishandles the Fortinet OTP service certificate. Exploitation requires administrator privileges and configured FortiToken Cloud integration; public sources do not define the resulting authentication failure.

CVSS severity5.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.66%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper certificate validation in GitLab allows remote authenticated users to cause unspecified Fortinet OTP authentication issues. GitLab has not publicly disclosed the affected code locus or how certificate validation mishandles the Fortinet OTP service certificate. Exploitation requires administrator privileges and configured FortiToken Cloud integration; public sources do not define the resulting authentication failure.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22189
Published
Mar 4, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-295
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 4, 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=>=13.6, <13.6.7
  2. Affected versionversion=>=13.7.0, <13.7.7
  3. Affected versionversion=>=13.8.0, <13.8.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=13.6, <13.6.7; version=>=13.7.0, <13.7.7; version=>=13.8.0, <13.8.4

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.9GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation

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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