CVE-2021-22246Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Service interruption via unbounded webhook responses

Published Aug 20, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Resource exhaustion in GitLab before 13.11.6, 13.12 through 13.12.5, and 14.0 through 14.0.1 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service. Gitlab::HTTP.post accepts an unbounded response body and applies only an inactivity read timeout, so a receiver that continually sends bytes keeps Sidekiq connections and memory occupied. Exploitation requires permission to add a webhook or control of a configured webhook endpoint; repeated deliveries exhaust workers, memory, or database storage and terminate GitLab processes.

CVSS severity7.7
High
EPSS probability1.33%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in GitLab before 13.11.6, 13.12 through 13.12.5, and 14.0 through 14.0.1 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service. Gitlab::HTTP.post accepts an unbounded response body and applies only an inactivity read timeout, so a receiver that continually sends bytes keeps Sidekiq connections and memory occupied. Exploitation requires permission to add a webhook or control of a configured webhook endpoint; repeated deliveries exhaust workers, memory, or database storage and terminate GitLab processes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22246
Published
Aug 20, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-770, T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 20, 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

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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=>=14.0, <14.0.2
  3. Affected versionversion=>=2.0, <13.11.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=13.12, <13.12.6; version=>=14.0, <14.0.2; version=>=2.0, <13.11.6

Published CVSS scores

4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.7GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

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-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

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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