CVE-2023-7028: GitLab Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2023-7028 Overview

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 16.1 prior to 16.1.6, 16.2 prior to 16.2.9, 16.3 prior to 16.3.7, 16.4 prior to 16.4.5, 16.5 prior to 16.5.6, 16.6 prior to 16.6.4, and 16.7 prior to 16.7.2 in which user account password reset emails could be delivered to an unverified email address.

Critical Impact

The vulnerability poses a significant risk as it can lead to unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially giving attackers full control over affected systems.

Affected Products

• GitLab Community Edition (CE)
• GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE)
• Versions from 16.1.0 to 16.7.1

Discovery Timeline

• Not Available - Vulnerability discovered by Not Available
• Not Available - Responsible disclosure to gitlab
• Not Available - CVE CVE-2023-7028 assigned
• Not Available - gitlab releases security patch
• 2024-01-12 - CVE CVE-2023-7028 published to NVD
• 2025-10-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-7028

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability arises due to improper validation in the email verification process during account recovery. An attacker can exploit this to redirect password reset emails to an unverified email address, enabling potential account compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause of the vulnerability is an input validation flaw (CWE-640) in the email verification mechanism during the password reset process.

Attack Vector

The attack can be carried out over the network, with the attacker needing no privileges or user interaction to exploit the weakness.

# Example exploitation code (sanitized)
import requests

url = "https://vulnerable-gitlab-instance.com/password/reset"

payload = {
    'email': '[email protected]'
}

response = requests.post(url, data=payload)
print(response.status_code)

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-7028

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual activity from unverified email addresses
• Multiple password reset requests in a short time frame
• Alerts from SentinelOne regarding unauthorized access attempts

Detection Strategies

Utilize thorough log analysis in combination with machine learning algorithms to detect patterns of unusual behavior related to email account modifications.

Monitoring Recommendations

Implement continuous monitoring on access logs, especially focusing on email address changes and password reset requests using SentinelOne Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities.

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-7028

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately update all instances to the latest patched versions
• Review user account settings for suspicious modifications
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts

Patch Information

GitLab has released patches across affected versions. Ensure to apply the latest security updates from the official GitLab repository or contact support for assistance.

Workarounds

While patches are the preferred solution, administrators can temporarily disable account recovery via email until the system is fully patched to prevent unauthorized access.

# Disable email-based password recovery
sed -i 's/enabled: true/enabled: false/' /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb
gitlab-ctl reconfigure