CVE-2021-22196 Cross-site scripting in GitLab

Medium 6.3 Published 2 Apr 2021 Updated 3 Aug 2024

Attackers can execute arbitrary scripts in victim browsers via crafted branch names in GitLab merge requests, potentially leading to session hijacking.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: A user has to click or open something
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2021-22196?

CVE-2021-22196 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab, published on 2 Apr 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 13.4. It was possible to exploit a stored cross-site-scripting in merge request via a specifically crafted branch name.

Weakness: CWE-79

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22196?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including gitlab. It affects 1 product.

Package	Affected	Fixed in
`gitlab` Bitnami	From `13.4.0`	`13.8.7, 13.9.5, 13.10.1`

Products include Gitlab Gitlab.

How do I fix CVE-2021-22196?

Upgrade gitlab to a fixed version for your release line: 13.8.7, 13.9.5 or 13.10.1.

Escape output for the context it lands in and set a strict Content Security Policy. Upgrading the affected component is the real fix. More about Cross-site scripting.

Is CVE-2021-22196 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22196 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Gitlab Gitlab vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BIT-gitlab-2021-22196, GHSA-2mw4-5fh2-j3wh, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-22196.