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CVE Record

CVE-2021-22238: An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting with 13.3.

An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting with 13.3. GitLab was vulnerable to a stored XSS by using the design feature in issues.

MediumCVSS 6.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-22238 is a stored cross-site scripting issue in GitLab's issue design feature. A user with access to create or influence issue design content could store script content that affects another user when viewed. The main business risk is account or sensitive data exposure inside GitLab, not direct server takeover.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate priority for GitLab environments with many contributors or external project members. It can expose sensitive information through user interaction, but the provided evidence does not support emergency treatment as actively exploited.

Technical view

GitLab versions starting after 13.3 and before fixed 13.12.9, plus 14.0 before 14.0.7 and 14.1 before 14.1.2, are affected. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N, indicating network reachability, low complexity, required privileges, and required user interaction.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to self-managed or hosted GitLab deployments running the affected version ranges where users can use the issue design feature. Systems not in those version ranges are not identified as affected by the provided sources.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or public evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires a logged-in attacker and a victim interaction with stored content in the design feature, making exposure important but not automatically urgent across all environments.

Researcher notes

The available data identifies stored XSS in GitLab issue designs but provides no CWE mapping in the bundle. Validation should focus on version exposure, privilege boundaries, and safe regression evidence without reproducing weaponized payload behavior.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade GitLab to a version outside the affected ranges listed by GitLab.
  • Prioritize instances with untrusted project members or broad issue access.
  • Restrict access to affected projects until upgraded if immediate patching is delayed.
  • Check GitLab vendor guidance for any additional remediation or backport notes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all GitLab instances and compare versions against the affected ranges.
  • Confirm issue design functionality is unavailable to untrusted users before remediation.
  • After upgrade, verify the deployed version is not in the affected ranges.
  • Review project activity for unusual issue or design changes by low-privilege users.
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

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CVE-2021-22238 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/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
6.8CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N2.34Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6.8Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-22238Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/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>=14.1, <14.1.2, >=14.0, <14.0.7, >13.3, <13.12.9Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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