# CVE-2013-4490: Command injection in n/a

> Authenticated users can execute arbitrary commands on the server by injecting shell metacharacters into uploaded SSH public keys.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 May 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9hhr-gwc7-jcvh

## What is CVE-2013-4490?

CVE-2013-4490 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab, published on 13 May 2014. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The SSH key upload feature (lib/gitlab_keys.rb) in gitlab-shell before 1.7.3, as used in GitLab 5.0 before 5.4.1 and 6.x before 6.2.3, allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in the public key.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4490?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Gitlab Gitlab, Gitlab Gitlab-Shell.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4490?

No fix has been published for CVE-2013-4490 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2013-4490 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4490 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Gitlab-shell Code Execution (metasploit)
- Gitlab-shell - Code Execution (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Gitlab Gitlab

- [CVE-2026-97229](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97229/): GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Integer Overflow or Wraparound (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-85706](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85706/): GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Path Traversal (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-7028](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-7028/): GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22205](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22205/): GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Remote Code Execution (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39935](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39935/): GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (medium 6.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4490 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4490 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab, published on 13 May 2014. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4490 exists.

Affected product: Gitlab Gitlab. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4490/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4490/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4490
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4490
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4490

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4490/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.