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CVE Record

CVE-2020-13354: A potential DOS vulnerability was discovered in GitLab CE/EE starting with version 12.6.

A potential DOS vulnerability was discovered in GitLab CE/EE starting with version 12.6. The container registry name check could cause exponential number of backtracks for certain user supplied values resulting in high CPU usage. Affected versions are: >=12.6, <13.3.9.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This GitLab issue can let an authenticated user make vulnerable GitLab servers spend excessive CPU checking certain container registry names. The known impact is service degradation, not data theft or code execution. Business urgency is moderate because it affects availability and requires valid user access.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate availability risk. Schedule remediation in normal vulnerability management timelines, faster for externally reachable GitLab instances or environments with many untrusted authenticated users.

Technical view

GitLab CE/EE versions 12.6 through before 13.3.9 contain a denial-of-service weakness in container registry name validation. Certain user-supplied values can trigger exponential regex backtracking, causing high CPU usage. CVSS 3.1 is 4.3 with network access, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and low availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to GitLab CE/EE deployments running versions >=12.6 and <13.3.9. The CVSS vector indicates an attacker needs low privileges. Risk is most relevant where authenticated users can interact with container registry naming paths.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Public issue and HackerOne references indicate reported vulnerability details exist, but this assessment should not assume exploitation in the wild without separate evidence.

Researcher notes

The issue is described as regex-style exponential backtracking in container registry name checks. Available sources identify affected versions and impact, but the bundle does not provide CWE mapping, exploit prevalence, or detailed vendor mitigation beyond moving outside the affected version range.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade GitLab CE/EE to 13.3.9 or a later supported version.
  • Prioritize internet-accessible or broadly user-accessible GitLab instances.
  • Check GitLab vendor guidance for any environment-specific mitigations.
  • Monitor CPU pressure and registry-related request patterns until upgraded.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory GitLab CE/EE versions across all self-managed instances.
  • Flag instances running >=12.6 and <13.3.9 as affected.
  • Confirm whether the container registry feature is enabled and reachable.
  • Review logs and monitoring for unusual CPU spikes tied to registry requests.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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.

description · low confidence lookup

Container behavior lookup

The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-13354 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
4.3CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-13354Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
GitLabGitLab CE/EE>=12.6, <13.3.9Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.