GitLab CE/EE Protected Branches API Denial-of-Service Vulnerability

A denial-of-service vulnerability has been identified in the protected branches API of GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). This issue affects all versions from 16.11 prior to 18.7.6, 18.8 prior to 18.8.6, and 18.9 prior to 18.9.2. The vulnerability arises from improper input validation, allowing an unauthenticated user to disrupt service by sending specially crafted JSON payloads.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability leads to a denial-of-service condition, causing interruptions in service availability.

Remediation

Users are advised to upgrade to GitLab versions 18.9.2, 18.8.6, or 18.7.6. Instructions for updating GitLab can be found on the GitLab Update page. For GitLab Runner, refer to the Updating the Runner page.