CVE-2021-39897Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthorized project access via stale inherited permissions

Published Nov 4, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper access control in GitLab 12.9 through 13.0.0 allows remote authenticated users to retain unauthorized access to private projects. Group-transfer handling grants access from the new parent hierarchy but fails to revoke inherited project permissions from members of the old parent. A project must be shared with a subgroup and that subgroup transferred; affected members can keep hidden access up to the invited role, including Maintainer.

CVSS severity2.6
Low
EPSS probability1.03%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in GitLab 12.9 through 13.0.0 allows remote authenticated users to retain unauthorized access to private projects. Group-transfer handling grants access from the new parent hierarchy but fails to revoke inherited project permissions from members of the old parent. A project must be shared with a subgroup and that subgroup transferred; affected members can keep hidden access up to the invited role, including Maintainer.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-39897
Published
Nov 4, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-281, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 4, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=>=12.10, <12.10.7
  2. Affected versionversion=>=12.9, <12.9.8
  3. Affected versionversion=>=13.0, <13.0.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=12.10, <12.10.7; version=>=12.9, <12.9.8; version=>=13.0, <13.0.1

Published CVSS scores

5.0NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
2.6GitLabCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
5.3NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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-281Improper Preservation of Permissions
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

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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