CVE-2022-2251
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15...
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
CVE-2022-2251- CVSS 3.1
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-34529
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
EUVD-2022-34529- CVSS 3.1
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-cxfq-cc8j-j2pp
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15...
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
GHSA-cxfq-cc8j-j2pp- CVSS 3.1
- 8.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
CVE-2022-2251- CVSS 3.1
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 8.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
CVE-2022-2251- CVSS 3.1
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2022-2251
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2022-2251- CVSS 3.1
- 8.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 4.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-gitlab-runner-2022-2251 No score
Improper sanitization of branch names in GitLab Runner affecting all versions prior to 15.3.5, 15.4 prior to 15.4.4, and 15.5 prior to 15.5.2 allows a user who creates a branch with a specially crafted name and gets another user to trigger a pipeline to execute commands in the runner as that other user.
- Record
BIT-gitlab-runner-2022-2251- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
gitlab-runnerBitnami |
before 15.3.5, 15.4.0 up to 15.4.4, 15.5.0 up to 15.5.2 | 15.3.515.4.415.5.2 |
gitlabUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 8.4.3+dfsg-98.4.3+dfsg-128.5.8+dfsg-5 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-2251 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.8) in Gitlab Runner, published January 17, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.18%, the 67th percentile. Fixed in gitlab-runner 15.3.5.
References
gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/issues/27386
hackerone.com/reports/1063511
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-2251
github.com/advisories/GHSA-cxfq-cc8j-j2pp
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-2251
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-2251