CVE-2016-9086 Path traversal in n/a
Authenticated users can read arbitrary files, including secret tokens, via symbolic links in project import archives.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2016-9086?
CVE-2016-9086 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab, published on 3 Nov 2016. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
GitLab versions 8.9.x and above contain a critical security flaw in the "import/export project" feature of GitLab. Added in GitLab 8.9, this feature allows a user to export and then re-import their projects as tape archive files (tar). All GitLab versions prior to 8.13.0 restricted this feature to administrators only. Starting with version 8.13.0 this feature was made available to all users. This feature did not properly check for symbolic links in user-provided archives and therefore it was possible for an authenticated user to retrieve the contents of any file accessible to the GitLab service account. This included sensitive files such as those that contain secret tokens used by the GitLab service to authenticate users. GitLab CE and EE versions 8.13.0 through 8.13.2, 8.12.0 through 8.12.7, 8.11.0 through 8.11.10, 8.10.0 through 8.10.12, and 8.9.0 through 8.9.11 are affected.
Weakness: CWE-200
Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9086?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Gitlab Gitlab.
How do I fix CVE-2016-9086?
No fix has been published for CVE-2016-9086 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2016-9086 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9086 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Gitlab Gitlab
- CVE-2026-97229 GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Integer Overflow or Wraparound
- CVE-2026-85706 GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Path Traversal
- CVE-2023-7028 GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Improper Access Control
- CVE-2021-22205 GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2021-39935 GitLab Community and Enterprise Editions Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8r73-cjhp-chc2.