CVE-2023-5825
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in GitLab
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- GitLab
Description
An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.3.6, all versions starting from 16.4 before 16.4.2, all versions starting from 16.5 before 16.5.1. A low-privileged attacker can point a CI/CD Component to an incorrect path and cause the server to exhaust all available memory through an infinite loop and cause Denial of Service.
Public exploit
A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit or proof of concept: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.
- HackerOne Bug Bounty Report #2218566 (opens in a new tab)technical-descriptionexploitpermissions-requiredx_transferred
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitLab
- 10 days later
· 10 days later
Published
- 2 years later
· 2 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitLabCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Medium6.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Medium6.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.77% · top 44% of all CVEs (8 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 6.5.
Weakness
Affected products
What to do
Solution: Upgrade to versions 16.5.1, 16.4.2, 16.3.6 or above.
References (2)
- GitLab Issue #428984 (opens in a new tab)issue-trackingpermissions-requiredx_transferred
- HackerOne Bug Bounty Report #2218566 (opens in a new tab)technical-descriptionexploitpermissions-requiredx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2023-5825)Record last updated .