# CVE-2016-9086: Path traversal in n/a > Authenticated users can read arbitrary files, including secret tokens, via symbolic links in project import archives. - **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`) - **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:** 3 Nov 2016 - **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** GHSA-8r73-cjhp-chc2 ## 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 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9086? It affects 1 product. Products: 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. ## 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](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-2016-9086 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: 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. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9086 in the wild and no public exploit code. 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-2016-9086/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9086/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9086 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9086 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9086 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9086/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.