Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-5117

Gitlab ≤ 17.6.0

Published
25 December 2024
Modified
11 July 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 3.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0031 23th percentile
Risk Priority 32 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-5117 is a low-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information Due to Incompatible Policies (CWE-213) vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab. Its CVSS base score is 3.7 (Low).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 23th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-16 (Security and Privacy Attributes) and AC-21 (Information Sharing) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue was discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions before 17.6.0 in which users were unaware that files uploaded to comments on confidential issues and epics of public projects could be accessed without authentication via a direct link to…

more

the uploaded file URL.

CWE(s)
CWE-213

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1039 Data from Network Shared Drive Collection
Adversaries may search network shares on computers they have compromised to find files of interest.
attack.mitre.org →
T1213 Data from Information Repositories Collection
Adversaries may leverage information repositories to mine valuable information.
attack.mitre.org →
T1530 Data from Cloud Storage Collection
Adversaries may access data from cloud storage.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1602 Data from Configuration Repository Collection
Adversaries may collect data related to managed devices from configuration repositories.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-3441Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2025-4976Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2023-0485Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2023-2069Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2025-0679Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2023-1936Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2025-3950Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2026-1732Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2025-1042Same product: Gitlab Gitlab
CVE-2026-1182Same product: Gitlab Gitlab

Affected Assets

gitlab
gitlab
≤ 17.6.0 · ≤ 17.6.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 4 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V4.1.2
  • V14.1.1
  • V16.2.5
  • V16.5.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-16 Security and Privacy Attributes good match

Associates security and privacy attributes with data and subjects so that incompatible stakeholder policies can be reconciled before exposure occurs.

AC-21 Information Sharing good match

Requires explicit checking that a sharing partner's authorizations match the sensitivity of the information, preventing release under mismatched policies.

AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement partial match

Enforces approved information flow policies between systems, directly stopping exposure when developer and stakeholder policies conflict.

PT-3 Personally Identifiable Information Processing Purposes partial match

Documents the specific purposes for processing PII, surfacing and aligning conflicting stakeholder policies before data exposure.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

GV.OC-02 mostly match
prevents

Understanding stakeholder needs directly surfaces incompatible sensitivity expectations that produce the exposure.

GV.PO-01 mostly match
prevents

Establishing risk-management policy based on organizational context is the primary mechanism for aligning divergent sensitivity rules.

GV.OC-03 partial match
prevents

Regulatory and privacy obligations often define the conflicting sensitivity views that the weakness fails to reconcile.

GV.PO-02 partial match
prevents

Periodic policy review can detect and correct stakeholder-policy mismatches before they cause exposure.

PR.AA-05 partial match
prevents

Defining and enforcing access policy is one concrete place where incompatible sensitivity decisions manifest as unauthorized disclosure.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.12 Classification of information mostly match
prevents

Classification directly addresses mismatched sensitivity views by defining what must be protected.

A.5.31 Legal, statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements mostly match
prevents

Legal and contractual requirements often impose stricter sensitivity rules than developer policy.

A.5.34 Privacy and protection of PII mostly match
prevents

PII protection explicitly reconciles developer exposure with data-subject or regulator expectations.

A.5.1 Policies for information security partial match
prevents

High-level policy can mandate consistent handling of sensitive data across stakeholder expectations.

A.5.13 Labelling of information partial match
prevents

Labelling helps communicate classification decisions and reduce policy conflicts.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
mitigates

Transfer rules can enforce consistent protection when data crosses stakeholder boundaries.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Ubuntu 24.04 (1 rule)
  • V-270708 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. prevents CWE-213
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
  • V-205757 Windows Server 2019 Debug programs: user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group. prevents CWE-213

References