CVE-2023-6680
Improper Certificate Validation in GitLab
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.4
Improper Certificate Validation in GitLab
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
CVE-2023-6680- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-295
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-58902
7.4
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
EUVD-2023-58902- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wpj8-2grx-f965
7.4
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all...
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
GHSA-wpj8-2grx-f965- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-295
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.4
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
CVE-2023-6680- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-295
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.4
Improper Certificate Validation in GitLab
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
CVE-2023-6680- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-295
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-6680
8.1
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-6680- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-gitlab-2023-6680 No score
Improper Certificate Validation in GitLab
An improper certificate validation issue in Smartcard authentication in GitLab EE affecting all versions from 11.6 prior to 16.4.4, 16.5 prior to 16.5.4, and 16.6 prior to 16.6.2 allows an attacker to authenticate as another user given their public key if they use Smartcard authentication. Smartcard authentication is an experimental feature and has to be manually enabled by an administrator.
- Record
BIT-gitlab-2023-6680- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
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-2023-6680 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.4) in Gitlab, published December 15, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.38%, the 31st percentile. Fixed in gitlab 16.4.4.