Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
An authenticated GitLab user could abuse SSH key upload to make GitLab Shell run unintended commands while processing a public key. For affected self-hosted GitLab 5.x or 6.x instances, this could turn a normal account into server-side command execution. Any unpatched legacy deployment should be treated as high risk.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation if any legacy GitLab 5.x or 6.x instance remains reachable. Authenticated command execution can threaten source code, credentials, CI secrets, and server integrity.
Technical view
CVE-2013-4490 is command injection in lib/gitlab_keys.rb in gitlab-shell before 1.7.3. GitLab 5.0 before 5.4.1 and 6.x before 6.2.3 are described as affected. The flaw involves shell metacharacters in uploaded public keys and requires remote authentication.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly legacy self-hosted GitLab deployments running the affected GitLab and gitlab-shell versions with SSH key upload enabled for authenticated users.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires an authenticated user account and targets SSH key upload handling.
Researcher notes
The source bundle provides affected version ranges and the vulnerable component, but no CVSS, CWE, exploit telemetry, or detailed vendor workaround. Keep analysis constrained to authenticated command injection through SSH key upload.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade GitLab 5.x to 5.4.1 or later if still in use.
- Upgrade GitLab 6.x to 6.2.3 or later if still in use.
- Ensure gitlab-shell is upgraded to 1.7.3 or later.
- Review current GitLab vendor guidance for unsupported legacy deployments.
- Limit account creation and SSH key upload access on legacy systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory GitLab instances and identify any 5.x or 6.x deployments.
- Check installed gitlab-shell versions for anything before 1.7.3.
- Confirm GitLab versions are not 5.0-before-5.4.1 or 6.x-before-6.2.3.
- Review historical logs for unusual SSH key upload activity.
- Verify upgrade completion against GitLab release records.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2013-4490 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.gitlab.com/2013/11/04/gitlab-ce-6-2-and-5-4-security-release/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.