CVE-2023-5207Network attack vector

Cross-project pipeline execution via policy bot reuse

Published Sep 30, 2023 · Updated Aug 14, 2026

Improper authorization in affected GitLab CE and EE 16.x releases allows remote authenticated users to execute pipelines as another user. Project membership authorization fails to keep a security-policy bot bound to its original project, allowing its pipeline privileges to be reused from an attacker-controlled project. Exploitation requires authentication and project membership control; affected releases are 16.0.0 through 16.2.7, 16.3.0 through 16.3.4, and 16.4.0.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability1.09%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authorization in affected GitLab CE and EE 16.x releases allows remote authenticated users to execute pipelines as another user. Project membership authorization fails to keep a security-policy bot bound to its original project, allowing its pipeline privileges to be reused from an attacker-controlled project. Exploitation requires authentication and project membership control; affected releases are 16.0.0 through 16.2.7, 16.3.0 through 16.3.4, and 16.4.0.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5207
Published
Sep 30, 2023
Updated
Aug 14, 2026
Vendor
GitLab
Product
GitLab
Classifications
CWE-250, T1548
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 30, 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=16.0.0 <16.2.8
  2. Affected versionversion=16.3 <16.3.5
  3. Affected versionversion=16.4 <16.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

GitLab · GitLabversion=16.0.0 <16.2.8; version=16.3 <16.3.5; version=16.4 <16.4.1

Published CVSS scores

8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.2GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
T1548Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

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

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Your stack

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