CVE-2023-3210Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authenticated service hang via bulk-import regex backtracking

Published Sep 1, 2023 · Updated Nov 20, 2025

ReDoS in GitLab 15.11 through 16.1.4, 16.2 through 16.2.4, and 16.3.0 allows remote authenticated users to hang Puma threads. The bulk_import_source_full_path_regex applies nested quantifiers while validating the bulk-import API's source_full_path value, causing catastrophic backtracking on a letter followed by many plus signs. Direct transfer must be enabled, and repeated authenticated requests consume CPU and make the web service unresponsive.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.81%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

ReDoS in GitLab 15.11 through 16.1.4, 16.2 through 16.2.4, and 16.3.0 allows remote authenticated users to hang Puma threads. The bulk_import_source_full_path_regex applies nested quantifiers while validating the bulk-import API's source_full_path value, causing catastrophic backtracking on a letter followed by many plus signs. Direct transfer must be enabled, and repeated authenticated requests consume CPU and make the web service unresponsive.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-3210
Published
Sep 1, 2023
Updated
Nov 20, 2025
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-1333, CAPEC-492, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 1, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 20, 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=15.11 <16.1.5
  2. Affected versionversion=16.2 <16.2.5
  3. Affected versionversion=16.3 <16.3.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=15.11 <16.1.5; version=16.2 <16.2.5; version=16.3 <16.3.1

Published CVSS scores

6.5GitLab Inc.CVSS: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-1333Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
CAPEC-492Regular Expression Exponential Blowup
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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo