CVE-2023-0921 | Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in GitLab

A lack of length validation in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 8.3 before 15.10.8, 15.11 before 15.11.7, and 16.0 before 16.0.2 allows an authenticated attacker to create a large Issue description via GraphQL which, when repeatedly requested, saturates CPU usage.

Published: 2023-06-06 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-0921 is rated Moderate Risk (57.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 84.44%, 100th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +67.44% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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-2023-0921

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 2026-06-15 16.99% 84.44% +67.44%
2 2026-06-08 21.46% 16.99% -4.46%
3 2026-03-04 — 21.46% —

Full EPSS history (42 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-0921

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-0921

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-0921

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-0921 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-2023-0921
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-0921 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (gitlab), 10 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 6, ignored 3, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-0921

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-0921

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gitlab gitlab >= 8.3.0, < 15.10.8 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 8.3.0, < 15.10.8 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 15.11.0, < 15.11.7 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 15.11.0, < 15.11.7 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 16.0.0, < 16.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:community:*:*:*
gitlab gitlab >= 16.0.0, < 16.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-0921

cvelogic Threat Intelligence