CVE-2026-4916
Received Received - Intake
Improper Authorization in GitLab Allows Privilege Demotion

Publication date: 2026-04-08

Last updated on: 2026-04-16

Assigner: GitLab Inc.

Description
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.2 before 18.8.9, 18.9 before 18.9.5, and 18.10 before 18.10.3 that could have allowed an authenticated user with custom role permissions to demote or remove higher-privileged group members due to improper authorization checks on member management operations.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-04-08
Last Modified
2026-04-16
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-04-09
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
EUVD
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 6 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
gitlab gitlab From 18.9.0 (inc) to 18.9.5 (exc)
gitlab gitlab From 18.10.0 (inc) to 18.10.3 (exc)
gitlab gitlab From 18.2.0 (inc) to 18.8.9 (exc)
gitlab gitlab From 18.10.0 (inc) to 18.10.3 (exc)
gitlab gitlab From 18.9.0 (inc) to 18.9.5 (exc)
gitlab gitlab From 18.2.0 (inc) to 18.8.9 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-862 The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should upgrade GitLab CE/EE to a fixed version. Specifically, update to version 18.8.9 or later if you are on the 18.8 branch, 18.9.5 or later if on the 18.9 branch, or 18.10.3 or later if on the 18.10 branch.

This will ensure that the improper authorization checks on member management operations are corrected, preventing authenticated users with custom role permissions from demoting or removing higher-privileged group members.

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE affects versions from 18.2 before 18.8.9, 18.9 before 18.9.5, and 18.10 before 18.10.3. It allows an authenticated user who has custom role permissions to improperly demote or remove group members with higher privileges. This happens because of insufficient authorization checks during member management operations.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is that a user with lower or custom permissions could reduce the privileges or remove users who have higher privileges within a group. This could lead to unauthorized changes in group membership and potentially disrupt the management and security of the group.

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