CVE-2021-39897

Improper access control in GitLab CE/EE version 10.5 and above allowed subgroup members with inherited access to a project from a parent group to still have access even after the subgroup is transferred

Published: 2021-11-04 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-39897 is rated Low Risk (31/100): CVSS Low severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.00%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-39897

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-30 0.89% 1.00% +0.11%
2 2026-06-15 0.29% 0.89% +0.60%
3 2025-11-21 0.29%

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-39897

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
2.6 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.2 1.4 [email protected]
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-39897

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-39897

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-39897 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (gitlab), 1 status rows across 1 suites (sid): resolved 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-39897
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-39897 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (gitlab), 7 status rows across 7 suites (focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, upstream, xenial): DNE 5, ignored 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-39897

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-39897

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gitlab gitlab >= 12.9.0, < 12.9.8 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 12.9.0, < 12.9.8 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 12.10.0, < 12.10.7 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 12.10.0, < 12.10.7 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab 13.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:13.0.0:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab 13.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:13.0.0:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-39897

cvelogic Threat Intelligence