CVE-2025-14157
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows authenticated GitLab users to cause Denial of Service by sending specially crafted API calls with large content parameters. It affects GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition installations running vulnerable versions. The attack requires valid user credentials but can disrupt service availability.
💻 Affected Systems
- GitLab Community Edition
- GitLab Enterprise Edition
📦 What is this software?
Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →Gitlab by Gitlab
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform providing source code management, CI/CD pipelines, security scanning, container registry, and collaboration tools used by millions of developers and thousands of enterprises worldwide. As both a cloud-hosted SaaS offering (GitLab.com) and self-managed software, G...
Learn more about Gitlab →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete service unavailability for all GitLab users, potentially disrupting development workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and code repository access.
Likely Case
Temporary service degradation or intermittent outages affecting user productivity and automated processes.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper rate limiting, API monitoring, and resource constraints in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but uses simple API calls with large parameters.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 18.4.6, 18.5.4, or 18.6.2
Vendor Advisory: https://about.gitlab.com/releases/2025/12/10/patch-release-gitlab-18-6-2-released/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your GitLab instance. 2. Update to GitLab 18.4.6, 18.5.4, or 18.6.2 depending on your current version. 3. Restart GitLab services. 4. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
API Rate Limiting
allImplement strict rate limiting on API endpoints to prevent abuse with large requests.
Configure in GitLab admin settings or via nginx/apache reverse proxy rules
Request Size Limits
linuxSet maximum request size limits at the web server or application level.
nginx: client_max_body_size 10m;
apache: LimitRequestBody 10485760
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict API access controls and monitor for abnormal request patterns
- Deploy WAF rules to block requests with unusually large content parameters
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check GitLab version against affected ranges: 6.3-18.4.5, 18.5.0-18.5.3, or 18.6.0-18.6.1Check Version:
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info | grep 'Version:'Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm GitLab version is 18.4.6, 18.5.4, or 18.6.2 or higher📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusually large API requests
- Multiple failed requests from single users
- High memory/CPU usage spikes
Network Indicators:
- Abnormal API request patterns with large payloads
- Increased error rates from API endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="gitlab" AND (request_size>10000000 OR error_code="500")