LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-22218: All versions of GitLab CE/EE starting from 12.8 before 13.10.5, all versions starting from 13.11 before 13....

All versions of GitLab CE/EE starting from 12.8 before 13.10.5, all versions starting from 13.11 before 13.11.5, and all versions starting from 13.12 before 13.12.2 were affected by an issue in the handling of x509 certificates that could be used to spoof author of signed commits.

LowCVSS 2.6Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This GitLab issue could let a user make a signed commit appear to come from another author by abusing x509 certificate handling. The direct impact is integrity loss in source history, not data theft or service outage. Risk is low, but repositories that rely on signed commits for trust decisions should prioritize cleanup.

Executive priority

Handle through normal patch governance unless signed commits are central to regulated release approval or supply-chain assurance. In those environments, prioritize verification of affected repositories and preserve audit evidence.

Technical view

Affected GitLab CE/EE versions from 12.8 before 13.10.5, 13.11 before 13.11.5, and 13.12 before 13.12.2 mishandled x509 certificates. The CVSS vector requires low privileges, user interaction, and high attack complexity, with low integrity impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to GitLab CE/EE instances running the affected version ranges. The main business exposure is misleading commit attribution where signed commits are used for code provenance, compliance, or release approval evidence.

Exploitation context

The supplied sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Conditions appear constrained by high attack complexity, required privileges, and required user interaction. Treat exploitability as possible but not proven from this bundle.

Researcher notes

The available evidence identifies an x509 certificate handling flaw causing signed-commit author spoofing. The source bundle does not include CWE mapping, public exploit confirmation, or detailed exploit mechanics. Avoid assuming broader authentication bypass or repository compromise.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade affected GitLab CE/EE instances to 13.10.5, 13.11.5, 13.12.2, or later.
  • Check GitLab vendor guidance for any version-specific remediation notes.
  • Review repositories that rely on signed commits for release or compliance decisions.
  • Revalidate commit-signing policies after upgrade.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory GitLab CE/EE versions across self-managed environments.
  • Confirm no instance remains in the affected version ranges.
  • Review recent signed commits in sensitive repositories for unexpected certificate-backed attribution.
  • Verify upgrade evidence and record fixed versions in vulnerability management tracking.
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.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-22218 mapping review

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

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Low
CVSS
2.6 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
2.6CVSS 3.1LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N1.21.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

2.6Low
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-22218Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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>=12.8, <13.10.5, >=13.11, <13.11.5, >=13.12, <13.12.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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