Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2024-0402 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab. Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 11% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2024-0402 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. It affects all versions from 16.0 prior to 16.6.6, from 16.7 prior to 16.7.4, and from 16.8 prior to 16.8.1, and permits an authenticated user to write files to arbitrary locations on the GitLab server during workspace creation. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.9, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, and changed scope with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An authenticated attacker can exploit the issue while creating a workspace to place files anywhere on the underlying server filesystem. Successful exploitation can therefore result in full control over application data and configuration, enabling further compromise of the GitLab instance and any connected resources.
GitLab’s critical security release of 25 January 2024 addresses the vulnerability by shipping fixed versions 16.6.6, 16.7.4, and 16.8.1; administrators are advised to upgrade immediately. The associated EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.4518 with a current value of 0.4459, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-16198
Vulnerability Data
An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 16.0 prior to 16.6.6, 16.7 prior to 16.7.4, and 16.8 prior to 16.8.1 which allows an authenticated user to write files to arbitrary locations on the GitLab server…
more
while creating a workspace.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
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.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.