CVE-2023-2181
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10...
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
CVE-2023-2181- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-33698
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
EUVD-2023-33698- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-m96m-mfqc-86mf
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10...
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
GHSA-m96m-mfqc-86mf- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
CVE-2023-2181- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
CVE-2023-2181- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-2181
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-2181- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-gitlab-2023-2181 No score
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions before 15.9.8, 15.10.0 before 15.10.7, and 15.11.0 before 15.11.3. A malicious developer could use a git feature called refs/replace to smuggle content into a merge request which would not be visible during review in the UI.
- Record
BIT-gitlab-2023-2181- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-2181 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.3) in Gitlab, published May 12, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.73%, the 54th percentile. Fixed in gitlab 15.9.8.
References
gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/407859
hackerone.com/reports/1938185
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2181
github.com/advisories/GHSA-m96m-mfqc-86mf
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-2181
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2181