CVE-2021-39944Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Developer-to-Maintainer escalation via imported access level

Published Dec 13, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper privilege management in affected GitLab CE/EE releases allows remote authenticated users to gain Maintainer access. The project importer trusts the access_level value in a user-controlled project_members.ndjson file instead of limiting it to the importing developer's group role. A group Developer can import a project with access_level 40, acquire Maintainer permissions, and create a deploy token or key.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.92%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in affected GitLab CE/EE releases allows remote authenticated users to gain Maintainer access. The project importer trusts the access_level value in a user-controlled project_members.ndjson file instead of limiting it to the importing developer's group role. A group Developer can import a project with access_level 40, acquire Maintainer permissions, and create a deploy token or key.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-39944
Published
Dec 13, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-269, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 13, 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

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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=>=11.0, <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=>=11.0, <14.3.6; version=>=14.4, <14.4.4; version=>=14.5, <14.5.2

Published CVSS scores

7.1GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
5.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/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-269Improper Privilege Management
T1098Account Manipulation

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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