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CVE-2023-7028· NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitLab

Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password in GitLab

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 16.1 prior to 16.1.6, 16.2 prior to 16.2.9, 16.3 prior to 16.3.7, 16.4 prior to 16.4.5, 16.5 prior to 16.5.6, 16.6 prior to 16.6.4, and 16.7 prior to 16.7.2 in which user account password reset emails could be delivered to an unverified email address.

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1KEVWeaponized Fix available
Published
Jan 12, 2024
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
EPSS
94.6% · 100th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

97

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
28 / 30 · 94.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
9.8
CNA · GitLab
10.0
0.2 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 1, 2024. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for government agencies: May 22, 2024.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
gitlabgitlab

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • gitlab gitlab16.1.0 and later · before 16.1.6
  • gitlab gitlab16.2.0 and later · before 16.2.9
  • gitlab gitlab16.3.0 and later · before 16.3.7
  • gitlab gitlab16.4.0 and later · before 16.4.5
  • gitlab gitlab16.5.0 and later · before 16.5.6
  • gitlab gitlab16.6.0 and later · before 16.6.4
  • gitlab gitlab16.7.0 and later · before 16.7.2

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitLab). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • GitLab GitLab

    • 16.1 and later · before 16.1.6affected · semver
    • 16.2 and later · before 16.2.9affected · semver
    • 16.3 and later · before 16.3.7affected · semver
    • 16.4 and later · before 16.4.5affected · semver
    • 16.5 and later · before 16.5.6affected · semver
    • 16.6 and later · before 16.6.4affected · semver
    • 16.7 and later · before 16.7.2affected · semver

Same product

gitlab: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2021-22205An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 11.9.KEV
    100Now
  • CVE-2026-85706Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in GitLabKEV
    97Now
  • CVE-2021-22175When requests to the internal network for webhooks are enabled, a server-side request forgery vulnerability in GitLab affecting all versionsKEV
    85Now
  • CVE-2021-39935An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 10.5 before 14.3.6, all versions starting from 14.4 beforeKEV
    71This week
  • CVE-2022-2992A vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 11.10 prior to 15.1.6, 15.2 to 15.2.4, 15.3 to 15.3.2 allows an authenticated us
    65This week
  • CVE-2022-2884A vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 11.3.4 prior to 15.1.5, 15.2 to 15.2.3, 15.3 to 15.3 to 15.3.1 allows an an auth
    62This week

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
GitLab GitLab16.1.6Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.2.9Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.3.7Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.4.5Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.5.6Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.6.4Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab16.7.2Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×1
  • Exploit-DB entry ×1
  • Nuclei detection template ×1
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×18

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Exploit-DB entryremote2024-03-14
Metasploit moduleauxiliary/admin/http/gitlab_password_reset_account_takeoverGitLab Password Reset Account Takeoverauxiliary2024-01-11
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2023-7028 —
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:582024-01-12
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02024-01-12
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:32024-01-12
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:2452024-01-12
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02024-01-18
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:42024-01-18
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02024-01-23
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:22024-01-23
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:32024-01-25

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Metasploit-1 d
  2. First PoCsame day
  3. Published
  4. CISA KEV+110 d
  5. TodaySep 29, 2026+991 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-640 · Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records