CVE-2021-22218Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Commit-author spoofing via unchecked certificate email

Published Jun 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Authentication bypass in affected GitLab releases from 12.8 to 13.12.1 allows remote authenticated users to spoof commit authors. X.509 signature verification marks a commit Verified without matching the certificate email to its displayed author identity. Exploitation requires project write access, a valid certificate for another email address, and a victim who trusts the false Verified badge.

CVSS severity2.6
Low
EPSS probability0.46%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in affected GitLab releases from 12.8 to 13.12.1 allows remote authenticated users to spoof commit authors. X.509 signature verification marks a commit Verified without matching the certificate email to its displayed author identity. Exploitation requires project write access, a valid certificate for another email address, and a victim who trusts the false Verified badge.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22218
Published
Jun 8, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-295, T1036
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 8, 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=>=12.8, <13.10.5
  2. Affected versionversion=>=13.11, <13.11.5
  3. Affected versionversion=>=13.12, <13.12.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=12.8, <13.10.5; version=>=13.11, <13.11.5; version=>=13.12, <13.12.2

Published CVSS scores

4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
2.6GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation
T1036Masquerading

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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