CVE-2025-10569: GitLab CE/EE Denial of Service Vulnerability

CVE-2025-10569 Overview

CVE-2025-10569 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). The flaw exists in all versions from 8.3 before 18.5.5, 18.6 before 18.6.3, and 18.7 before 18.7.1. An authenticated user can trigger the condition by providing crafted responses to external API calls handled by GitLab. The issue is categorized under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling. GitLab addressed the flaw in the GitLab 18.7.1 patch release.

Critical Impact
An authenticated attacker can exhaust GitLab instance resources and disrupt availability for all users of the affected instance.

Affected Products

GitLab Community Edition (CE) versions 8.3 through 18.5.4
GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE) versions 18.6 through 18.6.2
GitLab CE/EE version 18.7.0

Discovery Timeline

2026-01-07 - GitLab releases patch version 18.7.1 addressing the vulnerability
2026-01-09 - CVE-2025-10569 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-10569

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in GitLab's handling of responses returned from external API integrations. When GitLab consumes data from an external service, it does not sufficiently limit or throttle the resources allocated to process that response. An authenticated user with the ability to configure or trigger external API calls can supply crafted responses that force GitLab into excessive resource consumption. The result is a denial of service condition that impacts the availability of the GitLab instance.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-770, which covers scenarios where an application allocates memory, threads, connections, or other resources without enforcing appropriate bounds. See the GitLab issue tracker entry and the HackerOne report for additional technical context.

Root Cause

GitLab fails to validate or constrain the size, structure, or processing cost of data returned from external API endpoints. Because the response payload is treated as trusted input, an attacker who influences that response can shape it to consume disproportionate CPU, memory, or worker resources during parsing and downstream handling.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires authentication on the target GitLab instance and the ability to trigger an outbound external API call whose response the attacker controls. The attacker configures the external endpoint to return a crafted payload. GitLab processes the payload, consumes excessive resources, and enters a degraded or unresponsive state that affects other users of the instance.

No verified public exploit code is available for this vulnerability at the time of writing. Refer to the GitLab Patch Release Announcement for vendor-provided technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-10569

Indicators of Compromise

Sudden spikes in CPU, memory, or Sidekiq worker utilization on the GitLab application server without a corresponding increase in legitimate user activity.
Elevated response latency or HTTP 502/503 errors from the GitLab web interface and API endpoints.
Unusual patterns of outbound API calls from GitLab to attacker-controlled or newly configured external services.
Repeated processing of oversized or malformed responses in GitLab application logs (production.log, sidekiq.log).

Detection Strategies

Monitor GitLab application and Sidekiq logs for exceptions related to response parsing, timeouts, or memory pressure during external API interactions.
Correlate authenticated user activity with outbound network flows to identify accounts configuring external integrations that return anomalous payloads.
Baseline normal outbound HTTP response sizes from integrations and alert on statistical outliers.

Monitoring Recommendations

Instrument the GitLab host with process-level resource monitoring and alert on sustained saturation of Puma or Sidekiq workers.
Ingest GitLab audit events and web server access logs into a centralized SIEM to enable correlation across users, integrations, and system metrics.
Track configuration changes to integrations, webhooks, and external service URLs performed by authenticated users.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-10569

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade GitLab CE/EE to version 18.5.5, 18.6.3, or 18.7.1 or later as documented in the GitLab 18.7.1 patch release announcement.
Review recently configured integrations, webhooks, and external API endpoints for unfamiliar or suspicious destinations.
Audit user accounts with permissions to configure external integrations and remove unnecessary privileges.

Patch Information

GitLab released fixes in versions 18.5.5, 18.6.3, and 18.7.1 on January 7, 2026. Self-managed administrators should apply the appropriate patch version for their release branch. GitLab.com and Dedicated instances are managed directly by GitLab. Full patch details are available in the GitLab Patch Release Announcement.

Workarounds

Restrict outbound network access from GitLab application servers to an allowlist of trusted external API endpoints until patching is complete.
Limit the ability to configure external integrations to a small set of trusted administrator accounts.
Apply reverse-proxy or egress-gateway limits on response body size for outbound API traffic originating from GitLab workers.

bash

# Verify installed GitLab version and confirm patch level
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:env:info | grep -i version

# Example: upgrade an Omnibus GitLab installation on Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gitlab-ee=18.7.1-ee.0
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
sudo gitlab-ctl restart