CVE-2026-85706: GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Path Traversal Vulnerability

In short

GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition has a weakness classified as path traversal (CWE-22). CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-09-11. NVD lists CVSS 3.1 at 10 CRITICAL.

What it is

“GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated user to read arbitrary files due to an improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement in the repository commits API.” — CISA KEV, retrieved 2026-11-01

“GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.7 before 18.11.12, 19.0 before 19.0.9, 19.1 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2 that, under certain conditions, an unauthenticated user could have read arbitrary files from the GitLab server due to improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement in the repository commits API.” — NVD, retrieved 2026-11-01

Who is affected

GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. NVD lists the following versions as affected:

• Versions from 18.7.0 inclusive, before 18.11.12
• Versions from 19.0.0 inclusive, before 19.0.9
• Versions from 19.1.0 inclusive, before 19.1.8
• Versions from 19.2.0 inclusive, before 19.2.6
• Versions from 19.3.0 inclusive, before 19.3.2

Exploitation status

CISA KEV added: 2026-09-11. Known ransomware campaign use: Not reported by CISA. Due date CISA set for US federal civilian agencies: 2026-09-14.

Scores

NVD CVSS 3.1: 10 CRITICAL; vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N; source [email protected].

EPSS by FIRST: 97.36%; percentile 99.90; score date 2026-10-31. EPSS estimates the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

CWE: CWE-22, CWE-35.

Timeline

CISA required action

“Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.” — CISA KEV

What to do

• Confirm whether you run GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition and which version.
• Apply the vendor update or mitigation in the vendor advisory.
• Follow CISA’s required action.
• Review the vendor guidance on signs of compromise.
• Track the fix through completion.

References

• NVD detail
• CVE.org record
• CISA KEV catalog

Sources and dates

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, version 2026.10.30; retrieved 2026-11-01. CISA KEV data: CC0 1.0. No endorsement by CISA.

NVD retrieved: 2026-11-01. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

EPSS scores by FIRST; score date 2026-10-31.