NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitLab

CVE-2026-85706: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in GitLab

CriticalCVSS 10.0 · v3.1KEVWeaponized Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Now (action score 99/100)

CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Sep 11, 2026). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Sep 14, 2026.
A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit, Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 97.3% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.8% of all records.
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.
According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
Fixed version: GitLab GitLab 18.11.12, 19.0.9, 19.1.8.

Patch today or shut off access. Upgrade to GitLab GitLab 18.11.12, 19.0.9, 19.1.8 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS

GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.7 before 18.11.12, 19.0 before 19.0.9, 19.1 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2 that, under certain conditions, an unauthenticated user could have read arbitrary files from the GitLab server due to improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement in the repository commits API.

Published: Sep 11, 2026
Updated: Sep 24, 2026
EPSS: 97.3% · 99th percentile
CWE: CWE-22

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS: 40 / 40 · 10.0 / 10
CISA KEV: 30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS: 29 / 30 · 97.3%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation: active
Automatable: yes
Technical impact: total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: —
CNA · GitLab: 10.0; NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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 Sep 11, 2026. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Sep 14, 2026.

Get told when this record changes

In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
Weaponized exploit exists
A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
gitlab	gitlab	cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab

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
- 18.7 and later · before 18.11.12affected · semver
- 19.0 and later · before 19.0.9affected · semver
- 19.1 and later · before 19.1.8affected · semver
- 19.2 and later · before 19.2.6affected · semver
- 19.3 and later · before 19.3.2affected · semver

Affected versions · NVD (5)

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

gitlab gitlab18.7.0 and later · before 18.11.12
gitlab gitlab19.0.0 and later · before 19.0.9
gitlab gitlab19.1.0 and later · before 19.1.8
gitlab gitlab19.2.0 and later · before 19.2.6
gitlab gitlab19.3.0 and later · before 19.3.2

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-2023-7028Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password in GitLabKEV
97Now
CVE-2026-97229Integer Overflow or Wraparound in GitLabKEV
91Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2025-10903Aug 26, 2026 · Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in GitLab
26Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2026-75871Aug 27, 2026 · Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in GitLab AI Gateway
38Monitor
Later →CVE-2026-87719Sep 12, 2026 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data in GitLab
39Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

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

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
GitLab GitLab	18.11.12	Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab	19.0.9	Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab	19.1.8	Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab	19.2.6	Vendor (CNA)
GitLab GitLab	19.3.2	Vendor (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
Nuclei detection template ×1
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×13

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
Source	Kind	Date
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub	13 repositories	2026-09-11 → 2026-09-30
Metasploit module	auxiliary/gather/gitlab_file_read_cve_2026_85706GitLab Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Readauxiliary	2026-09-10
Nuclei detection template	Nuclei template CVE-2026-85706	—

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.

MetasploitSep 10, 2026-2 d
First PoCSep 11, 2026-1 d
CISA KEVSep 11, 2026-1 d
PublishedSep 11, 2026
TodayNov 14, 2026+63 d

EPSS, last 120 days

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

Credits

All researchers

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

s3ntagofinder

Variant candidates

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

CVE-2026-1005319 days apartImproper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in GitLab
35Monitor

Chain candidates

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

CVE-2026-877191 days apartDeserialization of Untrusted Data in GitLab
39Monitor
CVE-2026-8907813 days apartDouble Free in GitLab
39Monitor
CVE-2026-887654 days apartImproper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') in GitLab
34Monitor
CVE-2026-167945 days apartMissing Authorization in GitLab
17Monitor

Bug bounty scope

GitLabHackerOne · paid

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

Noroxi's write-up

Our blog post on this record: impact, how to check your site and the upgrade steps.

CVE-2026-85706: GitLab unauthenticated file read flaw. Is your server affected?

Not on record for this CVE: patch commit or PR link.

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: none

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality impact: High
Integrity impact: High
Availability impact: None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CVSS vector

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

nvd-secondary

Root cause

A user-supplied file name is joined with the allowed directory, but the result is never checked to confirm it is still inside that directory.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-22 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1const file = path.join(ROOT, req.query.name);
2res.sendFile(file);

Fixed

1const file = path.resolve(ROOT, req.query.name);
2if (!file.startsWith(ROOT + path.sep)) {
3  return res.sendStatus(400);
4}
5res.sendFile(file);

Attack context

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

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log (1)

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:10 PM UTC

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

References

gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/work_items/627748

Show all references (2 more)

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

All records

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

We use this product, ask for help

Data sources and verification

CNA: GitLab

CVE.org (CNA)Sep 23, 2026, 9:03 PM UTC
CISA ADPSep 23, 2026, 9:03 PM UTC
NVDSep 24, 2026, 8:52 AM UTC
FIRST EPSSNov 12, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
MetasploitNov 13, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC
NucleiNov 13, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC
PoC-in-GitHubNov 13, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC

Each line is when that source was last processed for this record.