CVE-2021-39942Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authenticated service interruption via falsified package length

Published Jan 18, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Uncontrolled resource consumption in GitLab CE/EE allows remote authenticated users to exhaust server disk space through NPM uploads. Packages::Npm::CreatePackageService compares the client-supplied attachment length to npm_max_file_size instead of measuring decoded package data. Remote authenticated users with project access and a deploy token can store oversized packages until disk exhaustion interrupts service; affected branches are 12.0 through 14.3.5, 14.4 through 14.4.3, and 14.5 through 14.5.1.

CVSS severity4.3
Medium
EPSS probability1.45%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled resource consumption in GitLab CE/EE allows remote authenticated users to exhaust server disk space through NPM uploads. Packages::Npm::CreatePackageService compares the client-supplied attachment length to npm_max_file_size instead of measuring decoded package data. Remote authenticated users with project access and a deploy token can store oversized packages until disk exhaustion interrupts service; affected branches are 12.0 through 14.3.5, 14.4 through 14.4.3, and 14.5 through 14.5.1.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-39942
Published
Jan 18, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 18, 2022CVE 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=>=12.0, <14.3.6
  2. Affected versionversion=>=14.4, <14.4.4
  3. Affected versionversion=>=14.5, <14.5.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=12.0, <14.3.6; version=>=14.4, <14.4.4; version=>=14.5, <14.5.2

Published CVSS scores

4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P
4.3GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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