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CVE Record

CVE-2021-22251: Improper validation of invited users' email address in GitLab EE affecting all versions since 12.2 allowed...

Improper validation of invited users' email address in GitLab EE affecting all versions since 12.2 allowed projects to add members with email address domain that should be blocked by group settings

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 EE issue let a project add members whose email domain should have been blocked by group policy. It is not a system takeover bug, but it can weaken access governance and allow policy-bypassing membership in affected GitLab projects.

Executive priority

Treat as a governance and access-control issue. Prioritize remediation where GitLab hosts sensitive repositories or regulated workflows and group email-domain restrictions are relied on for membership control.

Technical view

CVE-2021-22251 is improper validation of invited users' email addresses in GitLab EE. Affected versions are 12.2 through before 13.12.9, 14.0 before 14.0.7, and 14.1 before 14.1.2. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.3 with low privileges required and low integrity impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to GitLab EE environments using group-level blocked email domain settings, especially where project maintainers or similar users can invite members.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates network access, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and integrity impact only.

Researcher notes

The provided sources describe the bug and affected ranges, but do not provide exploit steps, KEV status, CWE mapping, or detailed patch mechanics. Avoid assuming broader GitLab products or deployment modes beyond GitLab EE as listed.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade GitLab EE outside the affected version ranges.
  • Check GitLab's advisory or CVE record for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
  • Review group blocked-domain settings for intended enforcement.
  • Audit recent project members added by invitation.
  • Remove unauthorized members and correct project-level invitation permissions.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory GitLab EE versions across managed instances.
  • Confirm whether affected groups use blocked email domain settings.
  • Review project membership for domains blocked at group level.
  • Check invitation history for policy-bypassing additions.
  • Verify upgraded instances no longer fall within affected ranges.
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-2021-22251 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: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
4.3CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-22251Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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>=12.2, <13.12.9, >=14.0, <14.0.7, >=14.1, <14.1.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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