CVE-2021-22240Network attack vector

Account creation beyond user cap via SSO

Published Aug 5, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper access control in GitLab EE affected releases allows remote authenticated users to create accounts beyond the configured user cap. GitLab's single sign-on account-provisioning path fails to enforce the instance user-cap approval check before creating a user. Exploitation requires a configured SSO provider and a valid identity at that provider; the new GitLab account bypasses the administrator approval that should apply after the cap is reached.

CVSS severity4.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.66%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper access control in GitLab EE affected releases allows remote authenticated users to create accounts beyond the configured user cap. GitLab's single sign-on account-provisioning path fails to enforce the instance user-cap approval check before creating a user. Exploitation requires a configured SSO provider and a valid identity at that provider; the new GitLab account bypasses the administrator approval that should apply after the cap is reached.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22240
Published
Aug 5, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab EE
Classifications
CWE-863, T1136
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 5, 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=>=13.12, <13.12.6
  2. Affected versionversion=>=13.7, <13.11.6
  3. Affected versionversion=>=14.0, <14.0.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLab EEversion=>=13.12, <13.12.6; version=>=13.7, <13.11.6; version=>=14.0, <14.0.2

Published CVSS scores

4.2GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
4.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1136Create Account

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo