CVE-2023-3385 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in GitLab

Medium 6.3 Published 1 Aug 2023 Updated 20 Nov 2025

An attacker can read unrelated files by uploading a specially crafted file during project import due to a tar bug.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2023-3385?

CVE-2023-3385 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Gitlab Gitlab, published on 1 Aug 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 8.10 before 16.0.8, all versions starting from 16.1 before 16.1.3, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.2. Under specific circumstances, a user importing a project 'from export' could access and read unrelated files via uploading a specially crafted file. This was due to a bug in `tar`, fixed in [`tar-1.35`](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2023-07/msg00005.html).

Weakness: CWE-22

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3385?

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

Package	Affected	Fixed in
`gitlab` Bitnami	From `8.10.0`	`16.0.8, 16.1.3, 16.2.2`

Products include Gitlab Gitlab.

How do I fix CVE-2023-3385?

Upgrade gitlab to a fixed version for your release line: 16.0.8, 16.1.3 or 16.2.2.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2023-3385 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-3385 exists.

All Gitlab Gitlab vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BIT-gitlab-2023-3385, GHSA-f8q5-vhrp-8mfc, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-3385.