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CVE Record

CVE-2021-22254: Under very specific conditions a user could be impersonated using Gitlab shell.

Under very specific conditions a user could be impersonated using Gitlab shell. This vulnerability affects GitLab CE/EE 13.1 and later through 14.1.2, 14.0.7 and 13.12.9.

LowCVSS 3.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-22254 is a low-severity GitLab issue where, under very specific conditions, a logged-in user could be impersonated through GitLab Shell. The main business risk is limited confidentiality impact in older GitLab CE/EE deployments, not broad system compromise based on the provided sources.

Executive priority

Handle through normal vulnerability remediation unless affected GitLab instances are exposed to many users or the internet. The issue is real but low severity, authenticated, high complexity, and has no active exploitation evidence in the provided bundle.

Technical view

The CVE affects GitLab CE/EE 13.1 and later before 13.12.9, 14.0 before 14.0.7, and 14.1 before 14.1.2. CVSS 3.1 is 3.1 with network attack vector, high complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and low confidentiality impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to organizations running affected GitLab CE/EE versions with GitLab Shell enabled. Instances already upgraded to 13.12.9, 14.0.7, 14.1.2, or later supported releases are not identified as affected in the bundle.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation is described only at a high level and requires very specific conditions plus an authenticated user, so urgency depends on whether affected versions remain deployed.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on version exposure and whether GitLab Shell is present in affected deployments. The public bundle does not provide enough detail to prove exploitability in a specific environment without vendor context, so avoid assuming impact beyond low confidentiality exposure.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory all GitLab CE/EE instances and record exact versions.
  • Upgrade affected versions to GitLab fixed or current supported releases.
  • Review GitLab’s CVE record and linked issue for vendor guidance.
  • Limit GitLab access to trusted users until affected instances are remediated.
  • Prioritize internet-facing or multi-tenant GitLab deployments first.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm no instance runs 13.1 to before 13.12.9.
  • Confirm no instance runs 14.0 to before 14.0.7.
  • Confirm no instance runs 14.1 to before 14.1.2.
  • Check GitLab audit records for unexpected user impersonation indicators.
  • Document version evidence after remediation for vulnerability management closure.
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-2021-22254 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
Low
CVSS
3.1 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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
3.1CVSS 3.1LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N1.61.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

3.1Low
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-22254Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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>=13.1, <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.