Protected-environment job execution via approval bypass
Published Nov 6, 2023 · Updated Nov 20, 2025
Missing authorization in GitLab EE allows remote authenticated users to run protected-environment jobs without required approvals. GitLab has not published the specific code locus; the approval-enforcement path accepts a run action while required deployment approvals remain unmet. Exploitation requires authenticated project access and a protected environment with required approvals; affected releases are 14.7 through 16.3.5, 16.4.0 through 16.4.1, and 16.5.0.
Summary
What happened
Missing authorization in GitLab EE allows remote authenticated users to run protected-environment jobs without required approvals. GitLab has not published the specific code locus; the approval-enforcement path accepts a run action while required deployment approvals remain unmet. Exploitation requires authenticated project access and a protected environment with required approvals; affected releases are 14.7 through 16.3.5, 16.4.0 through 16.4.1, and 16.5.0.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-4700
- Published
- Nov 6, 2023
- Updated
- Nov 20, 2025
- Vendor
- GitLab
- Product
- GitLab
- Classifications
- CWE-862, T1072
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 6, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=14.7 <16.3.6
- Affected versionversion=16.4.0 <16.4.2
- Affected versionversion=16.5.0 <16.5.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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