CVE-2022-4343: GitLab EE Project Member Credentials Leak Vulnerability: Analysis, Code Snippet, and Exploit Details

The vulnerability with ID CVE-2022-4343 refers to an issue discovered in GitLab EE. This issue affects all versions, starting from 13.12 before 16.1.5, all versions starting from 16.2 before 16.2.5, and all versions starting from 16.3 before 16.3.1. The vulnerability allows a project member to leak credentials stored in their site profile.

In this post, we will dive into this vulnerability, provide a code snippet demonstrating the issue, and discuss exploit details. We will also provide links to original references where you can find more information.

Vulnerability Overview

The vulnerability occurs due to insufficient access control mechanisms in place on the GitLab platform. An attacker with access to a project can exploit this issue to leak sensitive information like credentials of other members within that same project. The leaked information could be used to perform further exploits or unauthorized actions within the site, leading to a significant security risk.

Original References

1. GitLab Security Release: 13.12.6, 14..6, and 14.1.2 - Provides details about the security fix and affected versions
2. CVE-2022-4343 - NVD - National Vulnerability Database (NVD) reference for CVE-2022-4343

Code Snippet

The following code snippet demonstrates how a project member can leak other members' data. Imagine that there is an endpoint in GitLab EE that retrieves sensitive data:

def get_sensitive_data(project_id: int, user_id: int):
    project = get_project(project_id)
    user = get_user(user_id)

    if user.is_member_of_project(project):
        return project.get_sensitive_data_for(user)
    else:
        raise PermissionDenied("You do not have permission to access this data.")

An attacker can bypass the access control mechanism in place by modifying the 'user_id' parameter and accessing sensitive data of other users in the same project:

attacker_user_id = 1001  # The attacker's user ID
target_user_id = 1002  # The target user's ID, whose sensitive data the attacker wants to access

# The attacker could exploit the vulnerability to access the sensitive data of the target user
sensitive_data = get_sensitive_data(project_id, target_user_id)

print(sensitive_data)  # Leaked credentials would be printed here

Exploit Details

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker needs to be a member of a project on GitLab EE. Once the attacker has access to the project, they can exploit the vulnerability by sending crafted requests to endpoints where sensitive data is being fetched. By intercepting and modifying the requests, an attacker can gain access to the sensitive information of other users within the same project.

Mitigation

GitLab has released a security patch that addresses this vulnerability. To protect your environment from this issue, upgrade to one of the following GitLab EE versions:

Conclusion

CVE-2022-4343 is a significant security vulnerability affecting GitLab EE versions from 13.12-16.3. This issue allows a project member to leak credentials of other members within the same project. By understanding the vulnerability and applying the necessary patches, users can secure their GitLab environments and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Timeline

Published on: 09/01/2023 11:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/07/2023 17:31:00 UTC