CVE-2023-7028
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.
- CVSS
- 10.0Criticalscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 1 May 2024CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 22 May 2024public exploit code
- EPSS
- 94.5%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Fixed in 16.1.6, 16.2.9, 16.3.7per the vendor; 4 more listed below
- Published
- 12 Jan 2024analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Upgrade to a fixed release: 16.1.6, 16.2.9, 16.3.7, 16.4.5 (and 3 more below).
Summary
Triage
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- network
- Weakness
- CWE-640 Common Weakness
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| gitlabfrom the Bitnami advisory, via OSV | >= 16.1.0 and < 16.1.6>= 16.2.0 and < 16.2.9>= 16.3.0 and < 16.3.7>= 16.4.0 and < 16.4.5>= 16.5.0 and < 16.5.6>= 16.6.0 and < 16.6.4>= 16.7.0 and < 16.7.2Vendor says fixed in: 16.1.6, 16.2.9, 16.3.7, 16.4.5, 16.5.6, 16.6.4, 16.7.2 | |
| GitLab | >= 16.1 and < 16.1.6>= 16.2 and < 16.2.9>= 16.3 and < 16.3.7>= 16.4 and < 16.4.5>= 16.5 and < 16.5.6>= 16.6 and < 16.6.4>= 16.7 and < 16.7.2Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record, and, for products that ship the affected component, in the advisory named beside them. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- gitlab:gitlab
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. Cloudflare publishes WAF a rule written for this CVE. Such rules block the known exploit requests and buy time, but attackers can change the request to get past them, so they do not replace the patch.
Cloudflare · 1 rule (Disabled) · since 22 Apr 2025
- GitLab - Auth Bypass - CVE:CVE-2023-7028 · Cloudflare Managed Ruleset
Also consider: patch · enable the vendor rule in block mode
Based on WAF vendor rules published for this CVE. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 1 May 2024.
- CISA due date
- 22 May 2024, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module · 18 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 2 May 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Exploit-DB
- GitLab CE/EE < 16.7.2 - Password Resetremote, 14 Mar 2024
Metasploit
- auxiliary/admin/http/gitlab_password_reset_account_takeoverauxiliary, rank normal
Nuclei
- GitLab - Account Takeover via Password Resetdetection template, high
GitHub proofs of concept
- Vozec/CVE-2023-7028245 stars
- RandomRobbieBF/CVE-2023-702858 stars
- Esonhugh/gitlab_honeypot4 stars
- duy-31/CVE-2023-70283 stars
and 14 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 12 Jan 2024First public exploit or proof of concept
- 12 Jan 2024Published1 day later
- 1 May 2024Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)109 days (about 4 months) later
- 2 May 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active2 days later
- 22 May 2024CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)19 days later
- 15 Aug 2026CVE record last updated815 days (about 2 years) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com89 days (about 3 months) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | ChangedImpact crosses a security boundary into other components. | Impact crosses a security boundary into other components. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | NoneThe service stays up. | The service stays up. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-7028 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-7028 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-7028?
CVE-2023-7028 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 10.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-7028?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-7028. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-7028 affect?
CVE-2023-7028 affects gitlab:gitlab. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
4 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Exploits (1)
- hackerone.com /reports/2293343
Other links (3)
- gitlab.com /gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/436084
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-7028
- vicarius.io /vsociety/posts/critical-gitlab-account-takeover-vulnerability-cve-2023-7028
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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