CVE-2023-3443Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Guest modification via unchecked award-emoji authorization

Published Dec 1, 2023 · Updated Aug 14, 2026

Incorrect authorization in affected GitLab releases allows remote authenticated users with Guest access to add emoji to confidential work items. The updateWorkItemAwardEmojiWidget GraphQL mutation accepts an attacker-supplied global work-item ID and toggles its award emoji without enforcing permission to view the confidential item. A project or group Guest session, a valid CSRF token, and discovery or guessing of the work-item ID are required; the bounded impact is an unauthorized reaction, not disclosure of the item's contents.

CVSS severity3.1
Low
EPSS probability0.40%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in affected GitLab releases allows remote authenticated users with Guest access to add emoji to confidential work items. The updateWorkItemAwardEmojiWidget GraphQL mutation accepts an attacker-supplied global work-item ID and toggles its award emoji without enforcing permission to view the confidential item. A project or group Guest session, a valid CSRF token, and discovery or guessing of the work-item ID are required; the bounded impact is an unauthorized reaction, not disclosure of the item's contents.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-3443
Published
Dec 1, 2023
Updated
Aug 14, 2026
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-863, T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 1, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 14, 2026Record 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=12.1 <16.4.3
  2. Affected versionversion=16.5 <16.5.3
  3. Affected versionversion=16.6 <16.6.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=12.1 <16.4.3; version=16.5 <16.5.3; version=16.6 <16.6.1

Published CVSS scores

4.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
3.1GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
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

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Your stack

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