CVE-2023-5009Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Arbitrary-user pipeline execution via spoofed policy imports

Published Sep 19, 2023 · Updated May 2, 2026

Authorization bypass in GitLab EE 13.12 through 16.2.6 and 16.3 through 16.3.3 allows remote authenticated users to run pipelines as arbitrary users. Imported policy-project metadata lets direct transfer spoof the merge-request author used as the scheduled policy pipeline creator. Exploitation requires Direct transfers and Security policies to be enabled and can expose a victim's CI job token for access to private projects.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability8.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authorization bypass in GitLab EE 13.12 through 16.2.6 and 16.3 through 16.3.3 allows remote authenticated users to run pipelines as arbitrary users. Imported policy-project metadata lets direct transfer spoof the merge-request author used as the scheduled policy pipeline creator. Exploitation requires Direct transfers and Security policies to be enabled and can expose a victim's CI job token for access to private projects.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5009
Published
Sep 19, 2023
Updated
May 2, 2026
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-863, T1078
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 19, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 2, 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=13.12 <16.2.7
  2. Affected versionversion=16.3 <16.3.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=13.12 <16.2.7; version=16.3 <16.3.4

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.2GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
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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