CVE-2023-3914Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Persistent internal-project access via orphaned service accounts

Published Sep 29, 2023 · Updated Aug 14, 2026

Incorrect user management in affected GitLab EE releases allows remote authenticated users to retain access to internal projects. Namespace deletion leaves its linked service account and personal access token valid instead of removing them. A group owner can create the account and token before an administrator deletes the owner and namespace, then use the orphaned credentials to read internal projects and perform permitted write actions.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect user management in affected GitLab EE releases allows remote authenticated users to retain access to internal projects. Namespace deletion leaves its linked service account and personal access token valid instead of removing them. A group owner can create the account and token before an administrator deletes the owner and namespace, then use the orphaned credentials to read internal projects and perform permitted write actions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-3914
Published
Sep 29, 2023
Updated
Aug 14, 2026
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-286, T1078
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 29, 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

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=0 <16.2.8
  2. Affected versionversion=16.3.0 <16.3.5
  3. Affected versionversion=16.3 <16.3.5
  4. Affected versionversion=16.4.0 <16.4.1
  5. Affected versionversion=16.4 <16.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=0 <16.2.8; version=16.3.0 <16.3.5; version=16.3 <16.3.5; version=16.4.0 <16.4.1; version=16.4 <16.4.1

Published CVSS scores

5.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
5.4GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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-286Incorrect User Management
T1078Valid Accounts

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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