Protected-branch pipeline execution via reference authorization bypass
Published Aug 12, 2026 · Updated Aug 12, 2026
Affected GitLab CE/EE releases allow remote authenticated users to run CI/CD pipelines on protected branches without push permission. Pipeline reference validation in the CI/CD pipeline API accepts a developer-role request without enforcing the protected branch's push-permission requirement. A developer-role account is required, and the bypass permits unauthorized jobs to access the code and secrets available to that pipeline.
Summary
What happened
Affected GitLab CE/EE releases allow remote authenticated users to run CI/CD pipelines on protected branches without push permission. Pipeline reference validation in the CI/CD pipeline API accepts a developer-role request without enforcing the protected branch's push-permission requirement. A developer-role account is required, and the bypass permits unauthorized jobs to access the code and secrets available to that pipeline.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-15423
- Published
- Aug 12, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 12, 2026
- Vendor
- GitLab
- Product
- GitLab
- Classifications
- CWE-863, T1078
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 12, 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.
- Affected versionversion=19.0 <19.0.6
- Affected versionversion=19.1 <19.1.4
- Affected versionversion=19.2 <19.2.2
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.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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