CVE-2023-2181Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Protected-branch code injection via refs/replace

Published May 12, 2023 · Updated Jan 24, 2025

Improper access control in GitLab allows remote authenticated users to inject hidden code into protected branches through merge requests. GitLab accepts pushed refs/replace references, so the merge request UI reviews the original commit while the merge operation uses a substituted malicious commit. Developer access and a reviewer who merges the request are required; affected releases are before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3.

CVSS severity6.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.73%
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 allows remote authenticated users to inject hidden code into protected branches through merge requests. GitLab accepts pushed refs/replace references, so the merge request UI reviews the original commit while the merge operation uses a substituted malicious commit. Developer access and a reviewer who merges the request are required; affected releases are before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-2181
Published
May 12, 2023
Updated
Jan 24, 2025
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 24, 2025Record 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=>=15.10, <15.10.7
  2. Affected versionversion=>=15.11, <15.11.3
  3. Affected versionversion=<15.9.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=>=15.10, <15.10.7; version=>=15.11, <15.11.3; version=<15.9.8

Published CVSS scores

6.5NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
6.3GitLabCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/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

T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

Public exploit references

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

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